My Morning Walk

I'm now ensconced in my brother's apartment in DC. It's the perfect location for me: I can walk to the Library of Congress and to the National Archives downtown. There's a metro stop 5 minutes away that places me on the line I need to use to get to other libraries and archives. I knew this would be a great place to live, but I didn't realize how great until I got here. I love cities, and I love walking in cities. I get to walk around DC every day and look at some pretty amazing buildings, like Senate office buildings.

Or the Supreme Court. The line of people is waiting to attend oral arguments. I want to try and observe one myself this winter. Although I grew up in this area, I've never been inside the Supreme Court, and I'm a little bit of a junkie. Handily, it's immediately adjacent to the Library of Congress where I'm spending many of my waking hours these days.

Although the snow melted by the evening, the little dusting we got was sparkly yesterday morning. For those of you from non-snowy climates, not all winters are the same. Compared to the Midwest, the East Coast is much sunnier in the winter. All of these pictures connect to quilting as well. Project Modern's Challenge 2 is a monochromatic quilt. DC architecture, with all its white/grey stone and marble, not to mention exquisite detailing, has given me a lot of ideas. I don't know if any of them will make it beyond my head, but it's fun to make the world around me into quilts as I walk to work.

Read more...

Out the Window

I am surrounded by vibrant yellow leaves, even when it is rainy and a bit gloomy.

Today brought sunshine in the afternoon, though you wouldn't know it from this picture.

My dying plants, on the kitchen window-sill. The light off the yellow leaves make the orange walls glow, when there is light anyways...

Read more...

Summer to Fall

The signs of fall -- namely leaves changing and crisp, chilly mornings -- have arrived. There are still lavender flowers in the front yard (I have no idea what kind they are). And when the sun is out, it can still look summery.

What you may get a small glimpse of in the bottom of the picture is a bee. These flowers attract buzzing bees like no others.

They didn't seem to mind me getting close to take pictures but I don't love having a stash o' bees in the front yard. If they would start stinging the squirrels and getting those pests away from the roof -- where they like to run relay races in the morning -- I would like the bees more.

But there's no question that autumn has arrived, a little after the fall equinox.

Which is great because fall is my favorite season. It's only Wednesday but the week has already been jam-packed, what with Yom Kippur on Sunday night/Monday and then scurrying to get back into the work groove. I'm still struggling to get down a good daily and weekly rhythm, but I'm hoping that being home this weekend will help. And maybe I'll get to sew a little more -- I have a long list of projects I want to move forward with, but classes and teaching is pinching the time available right now.

Read more...

Free Bike Fridays

I highly recommend free bike Fridays at Governor's Island. Formerly an army and coast guard base, Governor's Island has become a lovely space for ordinary people to mill around, picnic, bike, read, hang out, or do whatever (legal) things one wants on an island a brief free ferry ride away from another island.

It was an admittedly gray day the afternoon I ventured over (take the 1 to South Ferry or the N/R to Whitehall and the ferry dock is east of the Staten Island ferry). Nevertheless, plenty of people were meandering around the island, biking, reading in hammocks, or viewing the sites.

Like the Statue of Liberty, easily visible from Governor's Island.

Or Lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge, also easy backdrops for one's photos.

I hate to complain about free bikes, but I wish the company operating the bike rentals required everyone to wear helmets, not just those under 14. The island's bike loop is pretty flat but there are enough other cyclists and pedestrians, not to mention the regular risk of rocks, uneven terrain, brake failure, not paying attention, etc, to warrant requiring all to wear helmets. But I'll step down from my bike safety soap box and just recommend getting over to Governor's Island the next time you can.

Read more...