Blue Monday: Artistic Blues

Blue Monday is hosted weekly by Smiling Sally.
To see more offerings, or to participate yourself, please head on over to her blog.

I might have mentioned (just possibly -- once or twice) that last year M and I moved from Virginia back to the land of our forebears. No, not England, Scotland, Wales, Germany or France.  Texas.  And, although I had my doubts at first (and although I really do love Virginia and enjoyed all my years there), I haven't regretted moving at all.  I'm loving the weather and the new house and all these wide open spaces.  And it's been wonderful to reconnect with family and old friends, and revisit the haunts of my youth.  We're both having a great time and haven't really looked back.  Much.

But I have to confess -- I do miss the museums.  I've been trying to organize some of the photos I took during the last year or so, in preparation for a scrapbooking project I have in mind (more about that in a later post), and I found bunches of shots I took on our last couple of trips to the National Gallery in Washington DC.  And it's made me a little sad that I can't just run out, hop on the Metro, and spend the day browsing the Smithsonian museums.

Ah, well.

Not that Texas doesn't have great art museums -- we do.  But ain't nothin' can equal those magnificent collections in DC.

Just get on with it!!!!  (I hear you saying.)

OK.  Here are a few shots that caught my eye as I organized.  Pretty paintings.  Lots of blue here.  (Click on images to enlarge.)

This has always been one of my favorite paintings -- Edouard Manet's The Railway (or The Gare Saint-Lazare), painted in 1873.  When I was a little girl, I soooo wanted that white dress with the big blue sash.  And now that I'm older, it's still one of my favorites -- I "collect" pictures of women with books, and this is one of the finest.  

I also LOVE that doggy asleep in her lap.

Another painting that I've always found interesting is Jan Gossaert's Madonna and Child (ca. 1532) -- mainly, I think, because it has one of the most hideous infants in the history of art! But it's another one of my "women with books" paintings (the Virgin is frequently pictured reading, of course), and I love the swirling blue fabric of her gown.  Sort of electric, isn't it?

But this time, I was mostly impressed with her footwear -- had never noticed those tres chic sandals before!

Even though I've been to the National Gallery many times, I always find something new with each visit.  Last time, one of my discoveries was this Family Portrait by Francois Hubert Drouais (painted 1756 -- sorry about the angle, but it was hung very high up on the wall). Lots going on here. 

Lovely little girl. Notice that her mother is adorning her (powdered!) hair with a crown of tiny blue flowers,

and that she's dressed in a very adult style. Hard to believe, but in the 18th Century, children (both boys and girls, apparently) were expected to wear corsets (or stays) -- supposedly to help their bodies develop properly and encourage good posture (see a photo of children's stays here).  Imagine engaging in a brisk game of tag or climbing a tree in this get-up.  But it is a lovely shade of blue.

Saturday Snapshot: Art Museum

One of my favorite ways to spend the day -- museum hopping in Washington DC. Actually, though, I love hanging out in museums just about anywhere.

National Gallery of Art, East Building exterior

And an interior view of the main lobby,
with the giant Alexander Calder mobile in the center.

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books, and as she says: "To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online."

SkyWatch Friday: The Mall and the Sky

Winter is fast coming on, so I thought I'd put up a nice summery photo for today's Sky Watch. Here's a shot of the Mall in Washington DC, with the Smithsonian "Castle" and the Washington Monument silhouetted against a nice blue sky with some puffy white clouds. If you enlarge the image, you can see all the people taking advantage of the lovely, sunny weather. A day without smog in Washington is definitely something to celebrate!

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

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SkyWatch Friday: Clouds Over Capitol

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

This shot was taken in Washington DC, back during the summer when there was evidently some sort of festival or other gathering going on (hence the tent out in front of the building). I suppose it's appropriate that those clouds over our nation's Capitol look just ever so slightly stormy.

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Outdoor Wednesday: Festival Time in DC

One of the nice things about living where we do is that we can take advantage of all the wonders of Washington DC without the hassle of actually living there. Not that there would be anything wrong with that. But I'm a suburban girl, born and bred, and although I love city life, I don't really think I'd like to try coping with it full time.

Anyhoo -- some of the most enjoyable things about life in our nation's capital are all the various festivals that go on there, especially at this time of year. In fact, the annual Folklife Festival put on by the Smithsonian every summer is happening right now. Haven't visited that one yet, but a month or so ago, the hubby and I were in the District to take in a couple of exhibits at the National Gallery, and chanced upon a celebration going on outdoors, behind the museums. Naturally, we had to investigate and discovered the National Asian Heritage Festival in full swing. It was colorful and noisy and smelled delicious! And, of course, made for a wonderful photo op. Here are a few more glimpses:

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

Outdoor Wednesday is hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.
To see many, many more outdoor photos or to post some of your own, please visit her blog.

Saturday Snapshot: On the Segway Trail

Haven't posted anything on Joysweb for a couple of weeks. Real life has been getting just a little too real lately. So I thought I'd jump back in with a Saturday Snapshot. This meme is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books, and as she says: "To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online."

I snapped this photo of a family of Segway riders on the Mall in Washington DC last month after a visit to the National Gallery. I tried to get a shot of them coming at me, but they nearly rolled right over me -- so I had to be satisfied with the rear view.

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Blue Monday: Old Post Office

Blue Monday is hosted weekly by Smiling Sally.
To see more offerings, or to participate yourself,
please head on over to her blog.

Since this is my husband's last week as an employed person (he's retiring at the end of February), thought I'd put up one of the photos I've taken of his place of employment (soon to be "former" place of employment!). The building used to be a post office and it has a rather grand interior. This shot shows the roof over the central court, with a glimpse of the tower, and a bit of blue sky peeking through.

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

PhotoHunt 237: Dark

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Metro Station, Washington DC, July 2007

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Sky Watch Friday: Literary Skies

These photos were taken a couple of years ago (September 2008) at the National Book Festival in Washington DC. It was a hot, rainy day, with almost unbearable humidity and un-breathable air, but thousands of book lovers braved the elements for a chance to scoop up the latest releases and get a look at some of their favorite authors. This year's festival is coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping the weather is a little better this time around.

(Click on photos for a larger view.)

The 10th annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, on the National Mall in Washington, DC, between 3rd and 7th streets from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. The festival is free and open to the public. You can read about the festival, find lists of events and the authors who will be attending, and download this year's poster at the festival website here.

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Ruby Tuesday: Bench Marked

Now I know this photo doesn't have a lot of red. But I found this secluded spot in one of the parks here in Alexandria recently, and just had to snap it. It's such a perfect representation of the suburbs here in the Washington DC area – around here, even the park benches come with red tape included!

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Ruby Tuesday is hosted by Work of the Poet.

Window Views...and Doors Too!

Hotel Washington (built 1917)
Washington DC

(Click on image to enlarge.)

For more window and doorway views, visit the website here.

Blue Monday: Railroad Blues

Blue Monday is hosted weekly by Smiling Sally.
To see more offerings, or to participate yourself,
please head on over to her blog.

One Saturday, a few weeks ago, M and I ventured into DC for the National Train Day show at Union Station. Weren't the banners a lovely blue?


We were hoping to see some really interesting model train exhibits (M is a real enthusiast, if not a practitioner), but the only one we got a look at turned out to be more in the realm of Thomas the Tank Engine. But it seemed to be fascinating the kiddoes, and after all, that's who it was aimed at.


This guy in the green leaf suit was advertising Amtrak's high-speed Acela train, which is supposed to be "the green way to get there." Not sure what that was all about, but I did admire his lovely blue hat and shoes.


It was obviously the place to be, that weekend, but the lines were long and the crowds were thick.


And the music was LOUD.


In fact, that's what ultimately drove us away, and back to our nice quiet Virginia retreat. We must be getting even older and more boring than I realized.

Sky Watch Friday: Castle and Sky

Bright skies and drifting clouds over Smithsonian "Castle," Washington DC.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

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Blue Monday: Cherry Blossom Weekend

Blue Monday is hosted weekly by Smiling Sally.
To see more offerings, or to participate yourself,
please head on over to her blog.

The Cherry Blossom Festival was going full-blast in Washington DC this weekend, and this year Mother Nature cooperated amazingly well. Most years, we get massive amounts of rain dumped on us all week, or a huge wind storm appears early in April and blows all the blossoms away. But not this year. The weather was gorgeous all weekend.

We didn't attend any of the festivities this year, but one day last week the hubby took some time out of his busy work day to walk over to the Tidal Basin and check out the blooms. These are a couple of the shots he took with his cell phone camera - it takes really great photos, don't you think? Well, I suppose the photographer had something to do with that, too. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Here's a shot of the cherry blossoms with the Jefferson Memorial in the background. Beautiful blue sky and water.

And this one gives you a bit of an idea of the kinds of crowds he met.

Outdoor and (Almost) Wordless Wednesday: One Big Eraser!

Typewriter Eraser, Claes Oldenburg,
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, Washington DC.
(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Outdoor Wednesday is hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer. To see many, many more outdoor photos or to post some of your own, please visit her blog.

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DC Decorates

Yes, they do. But not as whole-heartedly as in years past. We were out and about in our nation's capital just the other day, looking at the Christmas decorations; and they weren't all that easy to find. Admittedly, we were looking in a very small area (around 16th Street and the Old Post Office), and didn't hit any of the hot tourist areas (we'll try to get there next week). Still, I was a little surprised at how Grinchy the whole place looked.

In the past, when I used to work in Washington, I was always excited to see all the festive touches each business and agency would display every Christmas season. Huge wreaths on all the doors and windows and porticoes; beautifully decorated trees in all the lobbies; garlands, ribbons, bells and Santas everywhere. But this year, it's hard to find even a sprig of holly. I guess the recession really has curbed the decorating urge this Christmas. The Old Post Office building had some nice trees inside, although the outside of the building wasn't decorated with quite the pizazz of years gone by. And besides that, the only noticeable decorations were at the Treasury Department and the Willard Hotel. Well, I guess that's where the money is, right?

One of the two large trees in the Old Post Office. I love their black and white floors.


Another of the Post Office trees, this one made out of shiny gold bows. This is the food court there; they have musical acts entertaining the lunch crowd everyday. It's a popular place with tourists and locals alike.


I've always heard about the magnificent Christmas decorations in the Willard Hotel, but this is the first time I've ever ventured into the place to see them for myself. And they are definitely splendid.


While we were there, several groups of sight-seers stopped by to take family photos in front of the beautiful tree.


The rest of the lobby is nicely decorated, too - with garlands on all the columns and stair railings.



And here's the Treasury Department Building, wrapped up in lots of bows. Had to climb over piles of snow and several tourists to get to the fence and take this shot. It was a popular subject - well, as I said, there's not a lot of holiday adornment to choose from this year.




Just want to say thanks very much to the Holidailies panel of readers for choosing my post A Doll for Christmas as one of the "Best of Holidailies" selections. I've read a lot of the other entries, and I'm not sure I'm really worthy of that company - there's some pretty impressive writing in the bunch. So it's quite a thrill!