One of the great things about having guests in town is that you get to do all of the cool stuff you don't ordinarily do. Tonight I spent the rainy evening visiting the Washington Monument.
Designed by the architect Robert Mills, the monument to our first president began construction in 1848 and was finally completed in 1884. 
The interior is made of up beautiful plaques donated from around the world. This one is the largest - from NYC in 1852. One was donated by the pope but was ripped out and trashed by soldiers at one point!
The interior is made of up beautiful plaques donated from around the world. This one is the largest - from NYC in 1852. One was donated by the pope but was ripped out and trashed by soldiers at one point!
An observation deck is at the top. You can see the interior face of the stone -which is protected by glass panels seen here.
The obelisk rises 555 feet and 5 inches high, the tallest structure in DC. It was the tallest building in the world, beating the Cologne Cathedral and held this distinction until the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889.
The views are spectacular as one would imagine. Visibility was low due to the rain and fog, but you can see the WWII memorial at the base of the following picture, with the lincoln memorial closer to the top.
Each view is labeled above the window, as you see here.
The views are spectacular as one would imagine. Visibility was low due to the rain and fog, but you can see the WWII memorial at the base of the following picture, with the lincoln memorial closer to the top.Each view is labeled above the window, as you see here.
The cap at the top is made of aluminum -which was the most precious metal at the time the building was completed due to its' rarity. Now we use it to wrap up leftovers!
Quote by George Washington written in glass inside the observation deck:
"My first wish...is to see the whole world in peace, and the Inhabitants of it as one band of brothers, striving who should contribute most to the happiness of mankind." (1785) AMEN!
This past weekend I saw the new Pixar movie, 
Without giving too much away, the premise is an elderly widower who attaches 1,000s of helium balloons to his quirky Victorian house to fly to South America! Don't ask, just go; Let me know what you think!
a blurry picture of my weekend projects. The 3 left are a Greek revival house, Buckingham Palace and Chartres Cathedral.
The memorial was first conceived after WW I. However, a competition for the design of the structure wasn't completed until 1928. Because of the great depression, the monument then wasn't finished till 1941. The style remains Art Deco which was popular at the time. Housed in the building is also an Australian military museum.
interior of the dome above the Hall of Memory. Stained glass depicting the virtues of soldiers surround the space, you can see one of them above. They were completed by Napier Waller, a 1-armed veteran who also did all of the mosiac work here in the hall.
The central courtyard. 
Released in conjuntion with a show at the Guggenheim (of which there is also a model, seen above) called 
Also in the series is a BEAUTIFUL (but expensive at $299) set of the Taj Mahal.
The Empire state building above and the Seattle Space needle below are just as fantastic and a much more reasonable $20. For nieces, nephews, children -anyone? I can't wait to see what comes out next in the series!
Here you see Beth of 
Michele from 
Allie from 
Strawberry shortcake, croissants, tea sandwiches and some other snacks all proved popular!
And the spread afterwards -chaos and empty plates show that everyone had their fill! I used my Harebell by Coalport china for most of everything, but couldn't resist using a plate from my strawberry cream service by Royal Doulton for the tea sandwiches to go along with the strawberry theme!
The peonies even got some showtime in the bathroom - I put one single flower in a bud vase to liven up the sink.
As little 'host' gifts, I gave away my favorite carrotcake cupcakes from 
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