Happy Anniversary

Dear Kate and Will,
Congratulations! You survived a year of ridiculous media coverage and paparazzi and stalkers (including me). Your wedding day will always bring fond if not overwhelming memories of the momentous occasion. Here's to 49 more!
Kind regards,
Kristen McCarter
xx


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LA Riots

There has been a lot of media coverage over the past couple of days regarding the the verdict of the trial for the beating of Rodney King and the subsequent LA riots which happened just about 20 years ago. At that time in my life, I was living in Oceanside, CA, approximately 80 miles from the outskirts of Los Angeles. I was finishing up the Spring semester of classes at San Diego State University where I had begun to complete my Master's in Communication Disorders. I had about two more weeks of classes and exams before I was to drive to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where I would meet Craig. He and all of our stuff lived there now. We had PCS'd to the land of the perpetual sauna ("It's gotta be good for you!") over my Spring Break and he was stationed there as the Officer Selection Officer in Baton Rouge.

So here I was, an impressionable mid-20's gal, living in our empty condo (I had a couch, a TV and maybe a microwave). I remember walking into the house and turning on the TV and seeing all of the drama unfold. I was glued to the TV. It was pandemonium with not a law enforcement officer in sight because he or she would most definitely have been killed. No one was outside in my neighborhood; granted it was the afternoon and early evening and most people were still at work, but seriously, it was silent. I remember eating a frozen burrito (unfrozen, of course) whilst seated on the floor and calling Craig on my corded telephone to tell him what was going on and how creepy it felt to be watching it unfold in an empty condo with no activity outside.

All I can say is that I wasn't too unhappy to leave California two weeks later. Baton Rouge turned out to be a great decision. I finished my Master's there at Louisiana State University where I came to appreciate college football more than I could ever have imagined (Geaux Tigers!) and met some fantastic people during the process. In addition, I learned a lot of  first-hand lessons about race relations in the South instead of just watching them on TV.

Side by Side Concert

So tonight the sixth grade band (Owen) and orchestra had the pleasure to play alongside the fifth grade bands of the three elementary schools which feed into the middle school. I always felt that the purpose of this showcase of talent was to prove to the fifth grade parents that things really do get better once your child receives every other day music instruction versus once a week instruction.

Parents of fifth graders who might be reading this, please don't take this personally, but the fifth grade was bad. The fifth grade band was extremely bad and thankfully the orchestra only played one song instead of two.

The sixth grade was definitely good.

Here is the string of texts I sent to Craig during the performance because I can be a rude American now:

O joy
I think this is the most painful part. (speaking of the strings which were actually better than the winds)
So many bad violins
Zoinks!

And Craig's response:
I miss St. Eds!

The fifth grade music teachers have the patience of a saint.

I do want to note that parents everywhere of both fifth and sixth graders were taking video and pictures left and right. When we were at St. Eds, only the North American parents did that and we stood out a bit. Did Craig or I even remember a camera? No.
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Spring Has Definitely Sprung

It's almost the end of National Poetry Month so here is a poem about Spring.

 "Now that the winter's gone, the earth hath lost
Her snow-white robes, and now no more the frost
Candies the grass, or casts an icy cream
Upon the silver lake or crystal stream;
But the warm sun thaws the benumbed earth,
And makes it tender; gives a sacred birth
To the dead swallow; wakes in hollow tree
The drowsy cuckoo and the humble-bee.
Now do a choir of chirping minstrels bring
In triumph to the world the youthful spring."

 
-  Thomas Carew, The Spring, 1630     

And here are some pictures of my garden on this gorgeous day. 

 My late blooming azaela

 Lily of the Valley - so cute!

 The ants have been doing their magic and the peonies are ready...

 Spiderwort in white (above) and purple (below)

Boston

Just before Easter, we traveled up to Boston to peruse some colleges. Immediately upon arrival, we were treated to some good old Boston charm: two drunken and toothless idiots on the airport bus who managed to get themselves kicked off said bus. It was a good "stay in school and don't do drugs" lesson. Oh, and did I forget to mention it was 9:30 AM?

This is what I was afraid was going to happen the entire weekend because we were all feeling a bit sluggish, but I dragged them out anyway.

Finn, Owen and I headed to the Public Garden where we had to make way for Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings.

 From Owen's attire, one could ascertain that it was still a bit chilly in the North.

 The garden was just about to bloom.

 The cherry trees were lovely.

 Planking

 Posing

 Evan and Craig toured MIT whilst we wandered.

 That is a real building.

 Nice art in our restaurant at dinner near MIT (thinktank - highly recommend).

The next day, Evan and I toured BU on a very busy Open Day whilst the other half took a Duck Boat tour.

 They saw the Charles River.

Evan and I met up with our cousin/niece, Emily, who attends BU and then we met her later for dinner in Harvard Square. Sadly, I forgot to get a photo of us all.

The next day was all about the sightseeing. This is the Old State House. Geo. Washington read the Declaration of Independence for the first time right on that balcony.

Just below this balcony is the site of the Boston Massacre. Owen is reliving history, wondering what it would feel like to be massacred. He said it felt cold.

 We moseyed on over to Quincy Market because well, they sell food there.

 YUM!

 Right next door in Faneuil (rhymes with Nathaniel) Hall...

 we got some good history learnin' from our National Park Ranger, Mike. All I could think of was the Schoolhouse Rock song, No More Kings. "Rockin' and a rollin', splishin' and a splashin'..."

 We ate lunch at Ye Olde Union Oyster House. I am a sucker for ye olde anything and oysters, but not old oysters.

 They asked if we had a reservation. We did not. They seated us in JFK's favorite booth anyway. The VIP treatment must've been due to our obvious Scotch/Irish ancestry. Right.

 Look, Cheltonians. There is a Green Dragon in Boston too!

Gluehead

This stuff lines the streets and gutters in front of all of the houses in Catonsville. It rains down as the wind blows.
It is the flower of the oak tree. It is everywhere and the pollen is making my head feel like it is full of glue. I wouldn't trade this weather for anything. However, a nice spring rain shower would really make life less miserable at the moment.

Pizza Saga

As I type, we are awaiting our third pizza delivery of the evening. Our first delivery included half of the order I placed online. Our second delivery included a wrong delivery for someone name Kwaku. Do I look like a Kwaku? I called Papa John's to let them know and they are making a new pizza for me which should arrive whenever. We subscribe to the Papa John's rewards program and this pizza was free, so it just figures. We have never had this problem, but it is also a driver I do not recognize. I think I want my tip back -- "I want my two dollars!" Looks like take out is the way to go.
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Happy Easter

We go away for a few days and things explode! The azaleas are pretty much in full bloom which makes me so happy.I cannot believe I was worried that this azalea would be damaged when we did the kitchen and back staircase construction before we left for the UK. It is probably our healthiest one.
A pretty tulip bloomed.
My favorite weed is quite prolific in our yard. I just love violets.This bleeding heart is still going strong.

NYC Weekend Getaway with the Hubster

Last weekend, Craig and I escaped the homestead and went to NYC. Everything started out just fine. We got to the Megabus, got a seat on the overbooked trip and were settled into our seats. That was until I took extreme pity on a mom and her 9ish year old daughter who could not find seats even though they had tickets and had somewhere to be in NYC at 2 PM. It seems the bus was overloaded in DC which just seems half-assed if you ask me. Anyway, I looked at Craig and asked if he was okay with catching the next bus and we were assured by the attendant that we'd get a seat on the next bus which was scheduled 45 minutes later so we hopped off.

Big mistake.
We did get the first seats on the next bus however,
a. the bus was really late;
b. the WiFi wasn't working and I was planning to plan some things on the journey;
c. the a/c wasn't working on like the hottest day of the year so far and we were litruhlee baking inside our dutch oven of a bus;
d. my seat was in the handicapped row and I suppose it detaches so a wheelchair can roll into the space but the actual seat wasn't very well-attached to the actual floor of the bus and tended to shift as brakes were applied; and
e. at the Holland Tunnel, the driver had to hit the brakes quickly and the bathroom door which was not securely fastened by the last user fell off its hinges.
Seriously.
So much for being rewarded as a Good Samaritan.
The trip home on Megabus was a complete 180 from the trip up so my overall satisfaction rating now stands at 75% with Megabus, which is a British company I'd like to add.
Our weekend was very pleasant. Friday and Saturday were full of good weather. Sunday was acceptable, but we knew the weather was going to turn so we planned that day as the museum day. We played major sightseers and went to all of the places we knew the kids wouldn't tolerate without bribery.
However, they were never far away from our thoughts.
This was a club next to our hotel.

Enjoy the snaps.
FRIDAY
We got off the bus and hoofed it to the Half King pub in Chelsea that Craig had heard about years ago from something or other. It was totally the best. I would recommend the Left Handed Stout.
Central Park

Times SquareRicky Martin was pretty good and so was the show.

SATURDAYThe 911 Memorial was moving. Those holes are deep.
Honor Elizabeth Wainio's parents are our neighbors down the street.
Liberty and Ellis Islands are a good half day (at least) trip. Catching the ferries is crowded organized chaos. They definitely want to make you experience what it was like to be an immigrant.
Liberty IslandEllis IslandThe Empire State BuildingThese plaques were all over the main lobby commemorating elements of design. Very art deco-y.Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.'s birthplace was worth the quick tour.

SUNDAY
Museum of Modern Art (my favorite)
Prepare yourself for an art history lesson.
Portrait of Joseph Roulin (above) and The Starry Night (below) by Vincent van Gogh
Masks Confronting Death by James EnsorComposition in Brown and Gray by Piet Mondrian
See, he did deviate away from primary colors.
Girl with a Mandolin
Picasso wasn't always so blue.
A small excerpt of Four Panels for Edwin R. Campbell by Vasily Kandinsky. I think it looks like a goat man.
This statue, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, by Umberto Boccioni is on the back of the Italian euro 20 cent coin. I knew that without even reading anything or asking anyone. Go, me.
Agapanthus by Claude Monet
Ethnography by David Alfaro SiqueirosSelf-Portrait I by Joan Miro
Cat and Bird by Paul Klee
I do enjoy Klee's work, but honestly, Owen could do this.
The Sand Mines of Tetelpa by Juan O'GormanSharecropper by Elizabeth CatlettView from on high inside MoMA
Then it was off to...
to see...
The Solomon R. Guggenheim MuseumStructurally interesting, artistically boring.
Frank Lloyd Wright did a good job, but the bathrooms were tight and the main entrance/exit needs some tweaking.This picture is verboten but I took it anyway.
Plaque on the wall outside of the playground next to the Museum of Natural History. Hunh.
This is what a museum is for on a Sunday afternoon.
Ancient chickens!