The Phelps and Juneau kids got together today to carve pumpkins. Much fun was had by all. I did conclude though that someone needs to invent a seedless pumpkin.
Via iPad
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
In the Halloween spirit but a little
too realistic for me! yuck.
Cathleen
www.thephelpsfamily.blogspot.com
www.givingfullcircle.org
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Eva & Her 'Perfect Pumpkin'
When we went to buy pumpkins today, I think Will was satisfied with the first big pumpkin he found. Eva on the other hand spent a lot of time looking for a nice symmetric pumpkin with even coloring and smooth skin all around. She did find a really nice pumpkin and it will almost be a shame to carve it.
Via iPad
A very happy Lyra with her pumpkin
We went out this morning to pick out pumpkins. Carving will occur next Saturday. The weather was perfect and the kids loved exploring the pumpkin patch.
Via iPad
Getting Ready to Start
The sun is coming up over the Pentagon and I don't know how to do it justice with a camera. There is someone parachuting down and doing all these acrobatics in the way. Music is blaring from James Brown to Bruce Springsteen to Patriotic. LOVE this race. Maybe some day Will and Eva will run it with me
Cathleen
www.thephelpsfamily.blogspog.com
www.givingfullcircle.org
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Delaware Rock Gym - American Bouldering Series Competition.
Eva competed today at Delaware Rock Gym in the ABS competition. She placed 2nd, behind another girl in Female Youth D who she often places just behind, or sometimes just in front of. This was our first time at DRG, and it was a great gym. Eva had a great time, and as usual can't wait for near next opportunity to climb.
Via iPad
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Konrad the Frog Appears
We have a small pond in our garden that is home to a number of goldfish, a few small koi and a voracious catfish. For the first few years after we moved into our house we also had frogs. The frogs were naturally occurring. I don't know how they found our pond in a walled garden in the center of Old Town, but they did. However, several years ago all the frogs disappeared and we have been trying to get them reestablished. We have probably put 25 tadpoles in the pond in the last four years and I don't know if we have had any frogs. I suspect the catfish may be partly to blame. This year in addition to half a dozen small tadpoles from the fish store (all gone as far as I can tell) we inherited a partially transformed tadpole from a friend. That tadpole was already named Konrad, and Cathleen believes it is the one that turned into the frog pictured here. This is a small frog, but it looks healthy and is quick. I hope it survives the winter and maybe next year we can find it a companion.
Via iPad
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Lyra's First Ballet Class
Poor Lyra has been dying to take ballet for ages and it has never worked out. It was either mid-session when I thought to sign her up or it didn't work with her school schedule. I finally found a Tiny Dancers class on Saturdays. There is a new studio within walking distance of my house! She us one happy girlie. Today's story was about Tigger. I can't figure out how to email more than one photo at a time from the iPhone or I would include a photo of her in the costume too. But really, this one is cuter!
Cathleen
www.thephelpsfamily.blogspog.com
www.givingfullcircle.org
Will the Mad Bumper Car Driver at Six Flags
Will and one of his friends and I went to Six Flags today. We mostly focused on riding roller coasters, but made a short detour to the bumper cars. Will was an aggressive driver, I think I need to get him out to the skid pad to learn how to handle a car long before he is near a public road.
Via iPad
Monday, September 13, 2010
Another Off to School Shot, This Time Including Lyra's Cute Face
You could almost imagine these three are a band of angels. Not quite...
Via iPad
Phelps Trio Off to School!
Not quite the first day, but Will, Eva and Lyra are ready for school with their *huge* backpacks. I think Lyra's backpack is wider than she is (but Will's is by far the heaviest).
Via iPad
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Eva has Absconded with my New Shoes
Eva's feet are now almost my same size. Today, when I came home with a new pair of Vibram barefoot running shoes, she immediately wanted to try them on. Then Will. Then Eva. I really am barefoot now.
I don't know that I will really run any distance in them but they are comfy and hopefully will help eliminate some of my weird foot and ankle pain. They sure do look funny! I wish there were better colors. I liked the mauve ones but wanted the foot strap. There's a SmartWool version that would be less sweaty but the colors are BLAH. Would love a pair of chili red ones.Saturday, September 11, 2010
Haircut day!
Annette pointed out that there are never Internet pictures of Will getting his hair cut, just the girls. So here ya go! Annette works miracles!
Cathleen
www.thephelpsfamily.blogspog.com
www.givingfullcircle.org
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
If there are French Fries in Heaven, they come from Duckfat in Portland, Maine
In Portland, Maine last week I had lunch with my 12 year old son Will at Duckfat, a casual restaurant at 43 Middle Street near (not in) the Old Port section of town. Duckfat is one of three restaurants diagonally across the street from Rabelais Books, a bookstore dedicated to 'fine books on food & drink'. Browsing in Rabelais I asked which of the restaurants we should try for lunch, half expecting a non-committal 'depends on what you like' answer. The actual answer was, 'Duckfat, all the restaurants are good, but Duckfat is special.' Duckfat was special.
Like any 12 year old, Will eats a lot of French Fries. He said Duckfat's are the best he has had, worth a special trip. He said, if we go to Maine next year, we need to go back to Duckfat.
Having recently tried poutine for the first time in Montreal, I was not satisfied to have plain French Fries. We had Duckfat's version of poutine with local Maine cheese curd and house made duck gravy. Will accompanied the poutine with a chocolate milk shake. I wish I still had the blast furnace metabolism of a 12 year old boy. The poutine was insanely good. The fries were awesome on there own, crisp and richly flavored (I think duck fat is second only to butter in making anything cooked in it taste good). The cheese was good, but not so strong as to overshadow the fries. The gravy was mild, but made everything hold together.
I can't wait to go back.
First Day of School
I had to do the dump-and-go for Will so no photo of him. But Eva got to walk Lyra in for her open house day! That was a lot of fun because Lyra was so excited and Eva was able to visit many favorite teachers. Eva helped Lyra dress in a special and favorite outfit. She did Lyra's hair and everything! This was a very fun day....except for all the shots Lyra had to have in the afternoon. :(
Monday, September 06, 2010
Migis Lodge Vacation Video! Water Skiing & Other Maine Fun
Here's five minutes of video which hopefully reflects all the fun we had at Migis Lodge last week. You can tell the kids liked the water skiing *a lot.* This was the first year Will was really able to ski and he did great, improving very quickly after he figured out how to stand up. If you have a good internet connection, the video is best viewed at 720p (HD).
Of course many of our activities did not make the video: Eva and Cath swimming to Picnic Island for Wednesday lunch, Eva teaching Lyra the "man overboard" drill in a kayak, the liberal use of our first aid kit, Will and Bill kayaking to 'blueberry island', our trips to Portland (and lunch at Duckfat!) and Will's obsessive watching of sensational TV masquerading as education on the History Channel.
As always, the team at Migis made this a wonderful and memorable vacation.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Eva *and* Will Water Skiing at Migis
Eva picked up water skiing easily when she first tried it two seasons ago. This is also Will's third season, and water skiing did not come as naturally to him. Now in his third season, he has joined the ranks of successful skiers, and loves it.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Arlington Chorus Fairies from A Midsummer Nights's Dream
This was taken after makeup, costumes and wigs before the Sunday matinee on the 15th. Not everyone made it into the photo, but quite a few of the group are here. I like this photo because it shows the variety of costumes (and wigs). All of the costumes seem to be variations on a pajama theme. Will's striped costume is so much like pajamas that he is now sleeping in it.
Via iPad
Monday, August 16, 2010
Will Getting Wigged for 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at Wolf Trap
Will is performing this weekend as a member of the Arlington Children's Chorus at Wolf Trap in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (review here). Will loves to sing and he has had a variety of performance experience but this was, by his own report, his biggest challenge. He was on stage extensively during the three hour opera. It is his most professional stage experience. He had a wig (including fiber optics in his hair), makeup and a custom made costume(!).
I attended the matinee performance today, and had a chance to see and photograph the kids getting made up and 'wigged'. It was a complicated affair, at least to me, with several steps including a white base, tying the hair down to better accept a wig, putting a sort of stocking cap on, then the wig, then blush and lipstick(!). Will still looked a lot like Will after all the machinations but some of the other kids were completely unrecognizable!
I attended the matinee performance today, and had a chance to see and photograph the kids getting made up and 'wigged'. It was a complicated affair, at least to me, with several steps including a white base, tying the hair down to better accept a wig, putting a sort of stocking cap on, then the wig, then blush and lipstick(!). Will still looked a lot like Will after all the machinations but some of the other kids were completely unrecognizable!
He has one more performance on Tuesday, and continues to enjoy the performances, in spite of the late nights. I do agree with the WaPo review, especially in wondering why Hermia would have the hots for a guy in long shorts and knee socks.
More photos to come...
More photos to come...
Thursday, August 12, 2010
I cannot believe this
It is 7:45 am but it is PITCH BLACK outside, like night, and another storm is starting to rage. Last week there was a horrible thunderstorm and high winds that knocked devastated areas of Alexandria and people have only just barely recovered. People had trees through their houses, their cars crushed and overturned, lost power for days. We were fortunate not to be so affected. It seems unbelievable that no one was killed or injured. I cannot believe it is starting again. I hope it passes quickly without so much damage. CROSS YOUR FINGERS.
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Pyramid Valley Vineyards (Central Otago, NZ) and Williams-Selyem (Sonoma Coast) with dinner at Restaurant L'Atelier in Montreal
This is a belated update on a great dinner I recently had in Montreal with wonderful wine and company. I was returning for a day with colleagues and we had agreed I would bring some wine and my Montreal colleagues would pick the restaurant. They did a great job (thanks Nath). We met for dinner at Restaurant L'Atelier and it was excellent. Our server was enthusiastic, helpful and knowledgeable (doing her best for those of us who were French challenged) and the food was delicious. Poutine is a Montreal comfort food traditionally consisting of French Fries with cheese curd and brown gravy. I had L'Atelier's upscale version as an appetizer, and it was French Fries with aged cheddar, confit of rabbit and brown gravy over fresh cut fries. It would have been enough dinner on it's own. For the main course I had seared duck breast and for dessert a nougat. Nougat was new to me, sort of whipped cream or gelatin (I am not sure which) with chocolate chips and candied fruit mixed in. It was great with espresso and would have been even better with a little grappa. Excellent rich food, not subtle and not for the dieter or vegetarian. I brought two wines. We had a New Zealand Pinot Noir first. The Pyramid Valley was dark and concentrated and would have benefited either with more bottle age, or decanting. It was good from the beginning, but the last few sips had really opened up and were far better than the first pours. We learned our lesson and decanted the Williams-Selyem because I expected it to also be a rich wine. Whether from the decanting or just the wine itself, it was more of a 'wow' from the first glass. A strong dried fruit base with a lot of aromatics in the nose. I know Sonoma Cost is high on the Pinot hype scale right now, but the wines I have had from that area have been amazing. I certainly think L'Atelier is worth another visit, and I want to try a more typical downscale poutine next time I am in Montreal, though maybe with another good wine.
Via iPad
Friday, July 30, 2010
Camp Life - Hansel and Gretel
Eva's class put on a play for the parents last weekend. It was a poetic version of Hansel and Gretel and it was very cute! I had to edit waaaaay down to get it short enough for even family and friends to watch. It ends with Free to Be You and Me. Anyone who went to Orange Hunt with me will remember singing this in music class. Turns out that I still know the words!
Camp Life - Diving
Camp Arcadia's lake is Pleasant Lake and it really and truly is pleasant! There is a dock shaped like an H and the girls have lanes roped off there for swimming and there is a diving board. Eva learned how to do a regular racing dive which is GREAT because she didn't know how to do that at the beginning of the summer. She was working on her side dive and is hoping to learn a back dive by the end of the summer. It was very difficult to capture this on the teeny weeny Flip but I did my best.
Camp Life - The Horse Show
Bill and I spent last weekend visiting Eva at Camp Arcadia. She is having a fantastic summer and we enjoyed meeting all of her friends and counselors and seeing the different things at camp that she likes to do. Bill took care of all the still photographs (which is why I don't have any) and I shot a bit of video. Here's a short clip of the horse show. I don't really know anything about riding horses except that you couldn't pay me to wear those tan stretch pants. Additional video is coming!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
One Man Lord of the Rings - Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
> Will and I went to see One Man LOTR tonight at Woolly Mammoth in DC. This was a performance by Charles Ross who also developed and performed One Man Star Wars (which we have also seen). > > While I would say it was amazingly creative and well performed, I think Star Wars lent itself better to the 'one man' hour long format. LOTR is a much more complicated story, with many more characters, plot threads and nuance. This performance was developed from the movies, and if you had not seen the movies - multiple times - it would have been hard to follow. > > In fact, Charles Ross asked for a show of hands of people who had seen the movie and/or read the books, then those who had done neither. About six people had neither read the books nor seen the movies. He was a bit incredulous and kept poking fun at them for even coming to the show.
> > Overall Will and I enjoyed it, I think Will more so given his superior memory for the movies. >
> > Overall Will and I enjoyed it, I think Will more so given his superior memory for the movies. >
>
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Eva Learning to Dive at Arcadia
Eva is much more enthusiastic about swimming this summer than she has been in the recent past. She is also learning to dive, and we saw great improvement even in just the couple of days we visited. She did very well diving off the side of the dock, and even went off the 1 meter diving board (which looks more like 4 - 5 feet off water).
Via iPad
Best. Breakfast. Hot Suppa! - Portland, Maine
We were visiting Eva this weekend at Arcadia in Casco, Maine. We stayed near Portland and made it into the city for breakfast on Saturday. Two years ago we randomly discovered Hot Suppa! and were instantly addicted. We have since discovered that it is deservedly a foodie institution. I would not expect great biscuits and gravy north of Virginia, but Hot Suppa! has them. Also (of course) blueberry pancakes, great omelets and the signature corn beef hash with eggs. Currently they are only open for breakfast and lunch, but after some renovation in August they will be opening for dinner in September. It is definitely worth a detour if you are near Portland. We drove up to Portland from Logan Airport, and stopped for lunch at Giuseppe's in Newburyport, just off 95N. It should be in any guide to 'just off 95' restaurants. Any trip to New England requires seeking out local pizza and subs, Giuseppe's exceeded expectations. We split an Italian sausage sub that tasted fresh and homemade from the bun to the sauce to the sausage.
Via iPad
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Lyra - Master Baker
Lyra loves to help cook, and cinnamon rolls are a special favorite both for eating and helping. Lyra gets to mix the cinnamon brown sugar filling and then scrape the leftover filling off the pastry cloth and eat it. She enjoys kneading the dough, although she gets annoyed about it sticking to her hands (as do I).
Via iPad
Fresh Joseph's - Alexandria Farmers Market
No trip to the Alexandria Farmers Market is complete without fresh squeezed orange juice from Fresh Joseph. He also sells great fresh mozzarella and bread, but the juice is the best, and all hand pressed.
We are having a discussion about whether the farmers in farmers market is plural or possessive (or both). I can make an argument either way.
Cath wanted me to try and Photoshop out the rope running top to bottom through this photo. I decided that was in the 'too hard' category.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Alexandria, VA Fireworks Photos
We attended the Alexandria fireworks last night at Oronoco Bay Park to watch the fireworks and listen to the Alexandria Symphony. We can walk to this event, which makes it a lot easier than the National Mall fireworks and they actually have vendors selling lemonade and stuff, which for some reason the Park Service does not permit at Iwo Jima where we saw the July 4th fireworks. As I suspect others will write, this was not a great year for the fireworks. For some reason the fireworks kept starting and stopping, to the point that when the music stopped for good someone came on stage and said the crowd needed to wait because the fireworks were not over yet. Fireworks should be a logical progression toward a finale, not a series of 5 - 10 minute pauses to watch planes fly by (which seemed to be the reason for the delays). We don't remember the air traffic control causing problems in the past, and if that was the reason it was not well planned for, because the choreography between the music and the fireworks was not as smooth as in prior years. Will was generally is a bad mood, but one understandable issue that really set him off was a nearby cigar smoker. I think a letter to the city will be forthcoming about banning smoking at public events. Cigar smoke smells foul, and I can't comprehend the level of selfishness and bad manners required for someone to smoke one in a crowd, especially a crowd of mostly families with children. A number of people sitting near us were also disgusted. The smell eventually drove Will to leave early. The constant delays and my bad choice on where to stand made photography challenging. I thought shooting over the bandstand would create some context for the photos, but it was not a good angle and the bandstand was too bright in relation to the fireworks and is over exposed. I had initially thought of shooting near the water, and that would have been the right move, except I did not figure it out soon enough. I also had my tripod packed up when the music stopped and people started to leave, and had to scramble to get it set up again when the announcer finally said the fireworks were not in fact over. I do think the last couple of photos I took over the water, while not great, were the bast of the evening. All of these photos are processed with Photogene on my iPad. It is GREAT software. It is not as powerful as Aperture (by a wide margin) but it is a lot better than 'good enough' for quick edits. I did try one of the Photogene pre configured 'effects' on an overexposed photo, and I like the result.
Via iPad
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Amtrak Worker, Union Station, Washington
There is a plaque at Union Station in Washington honoring Amtrak employees killed on the job. This is from the bronze above the plaque.
Sent from Bill Phelps' iPhone
Monday, July 05, 2010
Washington, DC Fireworks Photo Series - No. 3
> This is taken at the beginning of the finale. I like the layering of the blasts, from the blurrier background to the sharp foreground, and the red streaks falling at the bottom in what looks like a bird foot pattern. >
>
Washington, DC Fireworks Photo Series - No. 2
> This photo was taken about two thirds of the way through the fireworks display. As soon as I saw it on the camera back I knew I had a keeper. I love how you can see the rocket trails showing the launch path of the rockets carrying the fireworks. >
>
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Washington, DC Fireworks Photo Series - No. 1
We went to watch the DC fireworks this evening at the Marine Corp War Memorial in Arlington. This is the park with the Iwo Jima Memorial and the Netherlands Carillon. All of the fireworks photos are taken from base of the Netherlands Carillon.
I took several photos that I really like. On this one I think it is cool that you can see that the fireworks are being shot in front of the Washington Monument, but behind the Lincoln Memorial as the fireworks 'rain' down obscuring the Washington Monument.
I took several photos that I really like. On this one I think it is cool that you can see that the fireworks are being shot in front of the Washington Monument, but behind the Lincoln Memorial as the fireworks 'rain' down obscuring the Washington Monument.
Via iPad
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Eva's Writing Blog - http://livelearnlovewrite.wordpress.com/
Eva loves to write and her facility with words is amazing, at least to me. She started a blog and I was afraid it would be dormant for the summer while she is off at Camp Arcadia. So far though she has been mailing poems and stories to us that Cathleen posts for her on the blog. Hopefully at some point Eva will have access to the Net and can see the results of her work. Via iPad
Licking Up the Eton Mess Leftovers - Photos of Lyra
I love the Australian food and wine magazines. The June 2010 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller had a recipe for a desert called Eton Mess I have been wanting to make. Eton Mess is essentially strawberries tossed in whipped cream mixed with crumbled meringue. I had fresh peaches not strawberries, so made a peach version. It was good but strawberries would have been even better. I gave Lyra what I thought was going to be a small sample of the uncooked meringue. She wanted the spatula, beater and bowl to herself. We made a deal that she could lick the beater if she would let me take photos. I think it was a good deal.
Via iPad
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