Wednesday, May 23, 2007

The Gin Blossoms in Crystal City!


Rob's company, the Crystal City BID, sponsored a Gin Blossom concert the weekend of May 5th. We put in some hard work setting up for the concert and despite the harsh and somewhat unexpected weather, we had a great time and were delighted to see so many people make it out to support the local Crystal City entertainment!







I was happy to help check ids that evening and watch Rob in action helping to make sure the event went smoothly.

It was a lot of fun and I look forward to many more events with Rob through the Crystal City BID. Stay tuned for more fun events and if you haven't been, take a walk through Crystal City!

Old Rag Mnt.


Always the enthusiastic hikers, Rob and I planned an all day hiking trip to Old Rag Mnt. in the Shenandoah National Park. The weather could not have been more delightful with some gusty winds when we finally made it to the summit, but for the most part it was mild and relatively cool.

There were many challenging parts of the hike as we climbed higher, but with this particular spot we were delighted to find actual stairs carved out for us!



We encountered many interesting rock formations while climbing, but this one really caught our attention after a bit of a 'scramble' as the biggest and most precarious looking boulder we had ever seen. Despite my curiosity, Rob felt more comfortable taking this photo of me leaning beside the Giant Man Crushing Boulder, rather than beneath it!!




Finally we reached what we thought was the summit only to realize after climbing to the top how far we still had to go to reach the actual summit. Taking advantage of the beautiful view, however, we took some shots and surveyed the scenery below with large rolling hills, deep valleys, and an occasional dot marking one of the farms.



With a relatively flat surface, we decided to stop for a while and eat our lunch before moving on. Rob was very kind to have carried our food in his backpack the entire trip.






After lunch we had several opportunities throughout our hike for some amazing photo ops....check out the maneuver in these next shots of Rob conquering one of the more difficult pieces.





And finally, the long awaited summit.....despite the sudden throng of people from whole families to a few groups of adventurous souls, Rob and I made it to the very top. Because it was so windy, Rob was the only one who really made it to the very top while I stayed a good 4 feet below him on a lower rock to take a picture.




At the end of the trip, Rob and I decided that it was one of the more interesting hikes we had been on since Helvellyn while visiting Rob's Father's family in the Lake District of Great Britain the summer of 2005. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and couldn't have felt more physically accomplished that day!


In closing, I think this quote is appropriate: "How fiercely, devoutly wild is Nature in the midst of her beauty-loving tenderness!--painting lilies, watering them, caressing them with gentle hand, going from flower to flower like a gardener while building rock mountains and cloud mountains full of lightning and rain." ~John Muir, The Yosemite, Chapter 5. 1911

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

A Spring Day in Norfolk



One of the first days of Spring hit us on a weekend when Rob was home in Norfolk. We took full advantage of the weather and decided to open the windows and doors of our apartment Sunday evening and cook a light meal consisting of satay chicken, cucumbers, peanut sauce, and salad.







It was too beautiful to stay inside, so we packed our dinner and walked down the cobblestone street that shoulders a small marina and around the bend to settle ourselves down on a grassy patch in front of the water.



One of our favorite past times, relaxing outside with some good food, a couple of good books, and each other's company. It's also a plus that we are able to walk from our apartment to many a restaurant, shopping, work, the water, a beautiful grassy spot for an evening meal, and so much more....Living the Urban Dream baby!

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Artomatic Mania

Artomatic has been a wonderful opportunity for me to spread my wings once again showing my work. Opening night came and went in a flurry, but we have spent a lot of time there since then and fortunately had the chance to take a look around at some of the amazing work other artists were doing throughout the exhibition space. Here I am in my space enjoying the fact that a lot of people had taken the Trilogy Design Group cards I had out as well as a stack full of business cards. Let's see what comes of that!



Rob and I really enjoyed this artist's work who created canvases with actual knitted portions attached to the canvas. We both agreed that Catherine would be a BIG fan.....


Rob and Joe really enjoyed the interactive art installation up on the 8th floor of Artomatic where an artist created an environment in which the viewer could use either the heat from their hand or a heating pad, that was in supply, to make words appear on the canvas. It was a very interesting look at human emotions, as all of the words that appeared or disappeared referenced an emotion.


Here a group of our friends gathered outside to watch the firedancers at Artomatic perform. Once they got started, we were all enthralled!


It was wonderful to be able to share so much of this exhibit with my husband and of course it was thrilling to see him take pride in my work being shown for the first time as a Mandle! I was very impressed with the artistic photos Rob took of my work and hope you all enjoy these photos as well.


Thank you Rob for everything you did, encouraging me to take the space, painting walls, hanging my show, your lovely comment in my guest book, and last but not least your excitement, enthusiasm, and support for my work!



This is one of many shows to come and I hope to keep all of my work, exhibits, and progress on new projects documented through this site. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Maria Gets Cited!!!

So, we are VERY behind in our blogging as we have about three or four adventures which we intend to document, but I had to jump ahead and report this one! As you all know, Maria has been exhibiting in one of the largest Art shows in the Metropolitan Area (and probably the country) that my organization, the Crystal City Business Improvement District, brought to our neighborhood. The venue is typically well attended and receives a lot of attention from the art community.

Maria was mentioned by quite a reputable area art critic in the Old Town Crier! It was a short mention, but certainly very sweet! Check out www.Artomatic.org for information on the show.

http://www.oldtowncrier.com/gallerybeat.cfm
http://dcartnews.blogspot.com/2007/04/view-of-art-o-matic-after-one-visit-how.html

I am so very proud of my lovely wife!!

Mr. Me