May's Mutterings

Category: fun

  • Spring Break 2015 (London & Paris)

    Our exchange student from China had never been to Europe, and so we decided to “sacrifice” our spring break and take her to London and Paris. We started off in London where it was sunny(!) and, if not exactly warm, warmer than in DC. We stayed at the Shangri-la in London, which is located at…

  • A Spurs Game (Masquerading as a Fundraiser)!

    So, you may not know this, but while I’m a huge sports fan, I’m not really a fan of professional basketball. But I make one exception to this rule–the San Antonio Spurs. I adore the Spurs—they do shocking things for an NBA team, like play team defense and play unselfishly to win (as opposed to…

  • Sips & Suppers 2015

    Sips & Suppers is an annual fundraising event in Washington, DC held to raise money for DC Central Kitchen and Martha’s Table. Both organizations have missions to eliminate hunger and poverty in Washington, DC, especially for children and families. We love this event where various generous folks open their homes to guests and to well-known…

  • Inn at Little Washington (December 2014)

    Every year, Jim and I try and spend one night at the Inn at Little Washington sometime between Christmas and New Year as a way to relax and spend some time together. This year, we decided to bring the entire crew (the kids, our exchange student, and Jim’s mom) to spend the night there. (Gift…

  • Christmas Dinner 2014

    I often wonder whether our 13 year old son still believes in Santa Claus or not. It seems highly unlikely, especially given the precocious nature of his school. His sister is convinced it’s all a manipulative play, and she is probably correct. But it’s certainly fun to have a child who is still writing Santa…

  • Thanksgiving 2014

    It was a festive Thanksgiving holiday for us. To begin with, it was the first Thanksgiving experience for Yinan, our exchange student. I don’t know if she was amused or appalled by the amount of food served, but she discovered that she loves mashed potatoes (or, as she calls them, “smashed potatoes”). We had 25…

  • Best Buddies Miami 2014

    In case you hadn’t noticed, fall is a busy time for us. 🙂 We traveled down to Miami for the Best Buddies gala, which was held on November 21. Best Buddies is a non-profit organization that helps developmentally disabled folks by providing them with friendships, jobs, and leadership training. We flew down on Friday morning.…

  • Photography Class – Sunflowers

    In a previous blog post here, I talked about a fabulous photography class I took with a friend that took place at a Franciscan monastery. I learned so much about my camera and lighting and had a fabulous time. So much so that we decided to take another photography class, this time taking photos at…

  • Chef Mavro (Honolulu)

    We had one of our favorite meals when we were in Honolulu at Chef Mavro. This is the second excellent meal we’ve had there (Jim and I were there in February and had an amazing meal then as well, which is, of course, documented on the blog). We chose a modified summer menu, knowing that…

  • Pandas…in a Submarine

    Our daughter came up with the headline for this post, and it perfectly captures the highlights of our recent trip to China and Hawaii. We started off in Beijing for a day or so, but, really, the focus of this trip was Chengdu and the Panda Breeding and Research Center. And the focus of the…