Football and portraits.

One of my oldest {not in age!} and best and dearest friends is in town. Last night we lazed and enjoyed the feeling of a Friday and today we got out a bit.

After a look through the National Portrait Gallery we headed over to my brother-in-law's to watch football for the rest of the day...it was a lot of pigskin! And quite the contrast from what we did earlier in the day.

And now it's way past bedtime...on to a good day tomorrow!!!
xoxo, natty ♥

Tired kitty.

Last Saturday, as I mentioned somewhere on this blog, we went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona. It was Right Up My Alley.

Moving on to today, I finally plugged my little camera-phone into my computer and got a glimpse of the pictures from that trip and this one caught my eye.

This guy was conked out in the partial sun and doesn't everyone love how good that feels?

On that note, Good Friday to You!
xoxo, natty ♥

The National Museum of Natural History and pretty green trees.

I had a few days to wander all by my lonesome in Washington D.C. last week while Mikey was doing some important Mike Stuff. I found my freedom so much more enthralling than I had anticipated and thoroughly enjoyed taking the metro and hopping around the various {& free!} museums available.On Wednesday I even tried a bit of a run {one minute on, one minute off for 20 minutes total; I'm a beast} before heading out. I couldn't help but take a few furtive shots of the verdant foliage. I've talked before about how beautiful and varied green can be in Spring.

People around here don't have screened in porches like there are in other cities. At least I think so.

Aren't these homes cute?

I am enamored of the public transportation I was able to use. In San Jose there's not much available. Or rather, what is available isn't easy to use {in my opinion} since our light rail isn't very far reaching, neither is the train and buses aren't super direct. Maybe I just like my car too much. No matter what, riding the D.C. and Boston metros was delightful to me; it seems like everyone actually uses them! They go almost everywhere! How novel!
I took the red line to the National Mall and checked out the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. I had been to this museum several times prior to last week's visit but never before by myself. I had a great lunch of Maryland crab soup and set out, first perusing the gift shops. I didn't buy anything and actually rarely do in gift shops but I always feel a strong urge to look at everything just to make sure there's nothing I can't live without. I was able to find some stuff for my pops.

He has such weird interests. Good thing I didn't inherit any of that; HA.
Within the actual museum this massive Boa Constrictor was kind of a let down.

It's eating a giant lizard.

The exhibit seemed more cartoonish than informative. But in my desire to leave no sign unread, I still had to check it out.

There was a super interesting area all about our bones and the history they can tell. A great portion of it focused on colonial history {think Jamestown era} which FASCINATES me. I didn't take pictures, though, and I'll spare you any attempt at recapitulating anything else; Smithsonian does a much better job than I do. I will share these stuffed rodents.

So maybe I did inherit something from my dad.

Oooh oooh oooh I just remembered - there is one more thing I took a picture of. In homage to my hummingbird class I took in Arizona with my mother-in-law and Becs.

It's a swift and a hummer.

I'll explain the class later this month. I realize that "hummingbird class" may sound odd to the unsuspecting reader and that an explanation may be in order.
I also popped into the National Museum of American History as well but at that point I had been on my little feeties for WAY too long, school groups were everywhere and thus I could only manage so much. Three highlights, in no particular order.
Dorothy's shoes.

Archie Bunker's chair.

Pretty Art Deco jewelry.

I really do ♥ museums. I could wax poetic for days about these glorious places but, again, I'll spare you. I do want to state, for the record, that it's such an enjoyable way to learn; walking through a building and rooms that are chock full of juicy little tidbits of information. Images of dry and stuffy art museums may come to mind for some but there are so many interactive and engaging places out there. The greatest aspect of D.C.'s Smithsonian museums is that they are FREE. Add in that their curators seriously know what they're doing and this city is right up my alley.
What if you're not in or around the District of Colombia, you ask? Well, locally I love the Oakland Museum of California, the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose {a throwback}, San Jose History Park, The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose {mummies! lots of them! a walk-through tomb!} and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Each is quite different from the other but I've spent many happy hours in my youth and young adulthood within their walls {or gates!}. And then there's the Musical Instrument Museum in the Phoenix area, as talked about in a similar-to-this-post HERE.
Please don't be intimidated by how hep and on-the-scene I am. Which museums make your heart sing? 
xoxo, natty ♥

Cultured.

Today we fed our brains and went to a museum. The Oakland Museum of California is one of my favorite Bay Area museums as well as one of my favorites in general.

I went here once with my pops when I was little which I obviously don't remember well. I have also gone several times in the past five years as a teacher taking her class on a field trip. 
Though from a student perspective I loved field trips, they bring me endless amounts of stress as a teacher. I wish I could think otherwise but a combination of the following prevents me from being able to do so : 

• Being in charge of a large group {"large" being more than one} of minors that are not my blood relations.
• Planning and organizing the transportation of said charges.
• Hoping and praying fervently that nothing goes wrong, no one gets sick or lost and that as many students that left also return. 
• Making detailed plans for the substitutes in the classes I left behind.

Needless to say, it was lovely to be able to enjoy such a cool place as an aware adult who's not completely preoccupied with the well-being of many young people. Mikey and our pal Eddie and I had a great time walking around the California history section of the museum. There are several other areas but this one is so chock full that it's enough for one whole visit.

The history section starts with Native information and goes to present-day California. 

This wasn't "modern-day" but I enjoyed it.

The whole exhibit also incorporates many interactive elements {which is awesome, as far as museums go if you ask me} one of which was this cool map.

There were little red dot stickers and patrons are invited to place one on the world map according to where they or their relatives hail from. There was also a guest book where folks can explain a bit more. It will all be incorporated into a formal exhibit some time in the future. I put one in Colombia since that's where my mama came from.
We had a great time and then the mister and I fed our tummies by buying a take and bake pizza from Costco so all-in-all it's been a fabulous Saturday and I hope that yours has been too! 
 xoxo, natty ♥