A Walk in the Woods

Last week, our Girl Scouts had a field trip to a local mountain, so-called in CT because it's a tall hill.  And I think, of all of us, I had the best time!  The tour focused on the natural history and human habitation of the area that could be read in the trees, reaching back to Native Americans and colonists and up through the agricultural use of the area, all of which I found fascinating--and I love rock walls!  I was proud that I made it through the hike, since parts of it had rocks and roots covered in leaves and unstable-for-me inclines and declines.

I'm becoming a much better hiker, a term I use loosely when applied to myself.  See, I don't think I realized what hiking was, seeing it as walking on paths through nature--not the arduous and sometimes treacherous climbing over rocks and trees and slopes that it is.  I first realized this in Vermont last weekend, when I was shocked to see what the Appalachian Trail looked like--not so much a path as a slightly-cleared thin line snaking through trees and rocks.  I'm now much more impressed with hikers than I ever was, particularly those who hike for months, sleeping on the way.

What we learned on our hike:

• cedars grow where once there were agricultural fields
• "wolf tree"--a tree with many protruding branches which was once probably the lone tree in a field.
• charcoal kiln--where farmers would gather and stack timber, cover it with leaves etc to burn it into charcoal for sale
• quarry--the holes and cuts of star drills, etc., were visible on cuts stones of an outcropping
• "three-sisters tree":  when trunks are cut during timbering and then another trunk grows out of the roots, then there are trees with 2-3 trunks, a sign of timbering
• how to roll a log--towards you to protect yourself from what might be lurking.  And always put it back!
• walnut, chestnut, hickory, and oak--local trees that produce edibles
• quartz--if you see a pile of quartz chips, it could indicate Native American tool-making.
• deer rub--an abrasion on a tree where deer mark their territories.
• rock walls--Second and third-generation European settlers (around mid-18th century) found that erosion caused by tree cutting and agriculture started to reveal all the boulders below the soil.  It was a curse on farmers!  They tried to clear fields, piling rocks as the iconic New England rock wall (most dating to late 18th and then 19th centuries), but agriculture in Connecticut ceased for the most part by the beginning of the 20th century, being too difficult and not profitable enough (hence the switch to manufacturing in much of the Northeast, as well as the move of settlers to better farmlands in Ohio, etc.)  In fact, the state is more forested now than since the settlers arrived; most trees are under 100 years old.  I love those rock walls and have been reading a history of them.

Between the hikes in Vermont and this hike, I'm of a mind to do more nature walks--as long as they are very easy access!

Rock walls

Wolf Tree to the right of center

More walls

Quarry holes

A Day in History

In addition to the play this weekend, we had our annual festival when we open the historic house for tours and children's activities, including dress-up, games, and painting.  Sis and Bud decided against attending their morning activities so that they could help out.  They even had new colonial outfits, since they had long outgrown their costumes.  Bud had the same kind of "nutmeg"-colored vest as before but in a larger size; Sis had a red bodice over a shift with a floral print, plus her cap and apron. I wore my new short jacket, with its pink and green floral print, over a navy skirt.

It was a hot day, so I was glad to have air conditioning.  Bud and I did demonstrate the old game of graces outside for awhile, walking up and down the street attracting some attention.  They also both gave tours.  Bud gave his first--he hopped right in talking about how colonists made bread, toasted it, and made butter to go with it; then he moved on to the parlor to talk about tea parties and "liberty" tea and help visitors make tea bags with herbs and coffee filters.  He was great!  Sis has given tours before and gives a good one; she also did some stenciling with a few young visitors, showing them how to paint.

I love that they love the historic house and want to help out.  They've attended programs, planted gardens, ridden in parades, demonstrated games and crafts, and told people about the history of Connecticut.  I love that we can share the history together.  I'm so proud of those kids.

Special Day

It's the end of an era as I know it:  I just gave the last official school tour at the historic house for my own kiddos!  Two years ago, I conducted an in-class visit at school and then led their class around house, talking about daily life in the colonial era (I think we strung up dried apples--it was before we changed that to making butter.)  Today, we talked about the Revolutionary War using both the house and My Brother Sam is Dead, a book they read about two brothers in Connecticut.  Their class is so bright, curious, enthusiastic, and chatty group--I veered off track several times (usually when they asked a question.)  But we had fun.  It hadn't started to rain yet, so they were able to play Graces and other games outside, plus the stenciling, paper cutting (papyrotamia), and seed packet activities we have.

A funny thing happened on the way to the tour.  I was picking up lunches for Sis and Bud at the deli and talking to the "deli lady" about butter, which she was scooping out.  A voice behind me said to me, "Don't you make that yourself?"  See, I was in costume.  I replied, "I definitely know how to--and I'll be doing that in about an hour!"  Okay, so that's the third grade tour in the fall, but he didn't know that.  Usually people just ignore my full colonial garb when I go to the deli or the coffeeshop or pizza place on tour days.  Nice to be noticed for a change.

Especially on this special day.

HAMILTON!!!!

It's no secret that I have wanted to go see the hot Broadway ticket, Hamilton, along with half of the nation, I imagine.  But the tickets have been prohibitively expensive.   I just can't pay $600+ each for the pleasure . . . so we listen to the soundtrack and read articles about the show in the paper instead.

Until Wednesday.  Mama has a friend at the office who realized early on that Hamilton was impressive and important and so he bought sets of tickets to sell for a profit.  And on Wednesday he told Mama that he'd noticed that the prices were the lowest they'd been in awhile, maybe the lull between spring break and summer tourists.  We'd stopped looking.  But Mama called me midday and said there were four tickets on Stub Hub inside the range we were willing to pay.  For that night.

And so she bought them.  We were a bit worried that they might be counterfeit, some of the resale tickets are, since there's such profit to be made.  But we were going to take the chance (Stub Hub reimburses your loss, if so.)  We picked up the kids after play practice at school and headed down . . . .

Right into the worst traffic we've ever seen heading into the city on a weekday.  More than two hours instead of closer to half that.  Ugh.  We tried not to stress.  But our Waze GPS said we wouldn't get to midtown until 7:20, with showtime at 8--and we still had to park and then pick up the tickets at another location.  And we hadn't eaten!  We had thought to stop on the way down, but the traffic took all of our time.

We got to the parking garage at 7:23 and the race began.  Mama ran to get the tickets and the kids and I headed to the theater, picking up chips and cookies at a nearby deli.  But we did all meet at the theater by 7:40.  Now just to see if the tickets were real.  We got up to the door--and the first three tickets scanned easily, but the usher got stuck on the last one; I think he scanned it 6 times before it went through.  Whew.  They were real tickets!  Mama said that when the ticket wasn't scanning all she could think of was how she wasn't going to get to see the show!

But all was well--actor/composer Lin-Manuel Miranda was even scheduled to perform (we had wondered if the tix were cheaper because he was out of town)--and we headed to our seats--but someone was in them!!! Oh, ugh, were they really good counterfeits???  No, the people were in the wrong seats.  I tell you, I sat down and didn't want to get up again.  These were our seats for Hamilton!  And really good, all things considered.  Fourth row front mezzanine, with an aisle!!!  We had a great view.

And the show was amazing!!!  I'm not even sure I can put it into words.  So, the things that stand out:

• the bare bones wooden-framed but adaptable set with the two levels was well-utilized;
• the lighting, especially in the George III parts, accentuated the drama and mood;
• oh, the actors and dancers!  Lin-Manuel Miranda has amazing presence despite being diminutive and not a strong Broadway-belting singer (he can rap, though! And move.)  All the main characters were powerful, one just as good as the next with no weak ones.  I think applause stopped the show after every solo.  I liked Phillippa Soo as Eliza, especially.  And the chorus/dancers were extremely talented.
• costumes--I loved, loved, loved the costumes, especially the women's.  And it made my little historian self so happy when they switched from early to late 18th-century gowns--from wide panniers to empire waists.  The white corsets and vests on the male and female dancers, both with thick tights, were versatile--becoming Redcoats, citizens, bartender, ballgowns, whatever was needed.  Also, it allowed us to see just how amazing muscular those dancers were (and were probably easier to dance in.)  And all the white then guaranteed that the main characters wearing colors were easier to follow.  Did I saw that I loved the Schuyler sisters' gowns?!
• the staging of the numbers was effective and inventive--the way they "rewound" time during the wedding toast, how they slowed down a bullet during the dual, how the wood became a podium or a ship's plank or the windows of an NYC house . . . .
• the music!!  I'm neither knowledgeable or really a fan of hip hop or rap, but the score captured the energy of what must have been a chaotic time.  There were also quiet songs too, which created a beautiful rhythm with the more energetic songs.  And the lyrics!  So clever--Hamilton was "the ten dollar Founding Father without a father" and such.  Plus references to other musicals--1776, South Pacific, Pirates of Penzance.  
• the non-traditional casting--a Latino Hamilton, African-American Washington and Jefferson, a Chinese-American Eliza?  Loved it.  Added the dimension of the powerless "Young, Scrappy, and Hungry" vs the powerful, which reflects current political issues of social justice, African Americans and the police, Mexican immigrants, etc.  
• indeed, the whole story, about the one Founding Father whom we don't often discuss, was enlightening.  It's been a long time since I've reflected on the early days of the nation--and I'm not sure I ever studied the Federalist Papers or could confidently discuss the different factions of the early days.  But the show didn't make it too dense.  I'd say it was the best way to re-examine the period (barring in mind that this was theater first and some differ with the heroic depiction of Hamilton.)

We LOVED it!  We laughed and cheered and clapped and cried (oh, I had to hold back sobs when Hamilton's son is injured in a duel and his parents are by his side as he dies and as they continue to mourning, living through the unimaginable, as the line goes.)

We all stood clapping before the lights even dimmed and rose again.  And then, Miranda spoke--it's Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS week when casts gather money for organizations (I've seen, if I recall correctly, Rent cast members and Glenn Close make appeals.)  And so Miranda did (while acknowledging how much we'd already spent on tickets!) and then someone else mentioned his Pulitzer this week and we all cheered some more.  LOVED it!

We didn't bother stage-dooring.  I can only guess at the crowds.  So we grabbed some Junior's take out for dinner on the late, long ride home.  And we listened to the soundtrack all the way . . . and haven't stopped since.

I even offered to rap some of it at my historic house tour (my own Hamilton-era performance) yesterday!

Speechless

36 Hours in WMass

Spring Break 2016 is nearly over for us.  Today is the last day before school and we're home, playing videogames, lazing around, and enjoying a beautiful spring day.  From the couch.  Because the last day and a half were pretty packed with activities.

On Friday morning, we slept in, packed, and left for Northampton in the western corner of Massachusetts. It's a pretty and pretty easy drive north and would have been even prettier in almost any other season--spring isn't really here yet, so there's barely grass and the trees are still mainly skeletal brown.  At least there's no dirty snow anywhere.  And it's warm enough to go without a jacket in the sun.

Because of the timing, the first thing we did in this college town (home to Smith) was eat.  In fact, we ate somewhere the kids and I had eaten before--at Sylvester's, a breakfast and lunch place in an older building on one of the main drags.  It's where Gommie and I had gone with the kids and our minister many, many years ago, in 2009, when Mama was in Thailand.  Of course, the kids didn't remember it.  But it was as good as last time--clam chowder, chicken caesar salad, Irish eggs benedict (with corned beef hash), Cubano sandwich, and a bacon cheeseburger on a brioche.  And a delicious hot chocolate that Sis really enjoyed.  I hadn't realized last time that the building housed the original manufacturer of graham crackers, Dr. Sylvester Graham.  But I didn't notice any extra graham-y-ness on the menu.

The kids and I strolled the street as Mama drove a few blocks to the Hotel Northampton, a 1920s mainstay that is now an Historic Hotel of America.  We stopped at a yarn store and picked up a few skeins for a scarf.  And a felted wool sheep for Mama.  There was also a Newbury Comics store, but we didn't have time to stop because we had a few things to do before our big evening activity.

Rice Paper

Blue Morpho

Glass Wing

We went first to Magic Wings, which is a butterfly-arium--thousands of butterflies in a rainforest-like garden inside.  It was lovely, the largest one we've ever seen (including AMNH, Bronx Zoo, Norwalk Aquarium, Boston science museum.)  I do like being surrounded by butterflies.  And I "met" a few new ones--the lovely white wings with black detailing of the Rice Paper and the completely transparent and surprising wings of the Glass Wing.  There were also gorgeous Blue Morphos that flit around in indigo and violet luminescence.  But they rarely land and keep their wings open but for a split second.  So they are really hard to photograph.  And I tried.  Sis and Mama had more luck, even found a few sunning their wings open.  So, in the end, I did manage a few glorious photos.  None really landed on us this time, though, which disappoints Bud, but since they didn't land on any of us, it was ok.


Then we kicked off the warm-weather family putt-putt golf season!  And we started it with some actual time on the driving range.  Who knew hitting a ball with a driver could be so hard?  I don't think we were making contact more than 50% of the time!  But it was fun.  Putt putt was better, though, more our speed (and by "our," I mean "their"--I just watch.)  We had the course almost completely to ourselves and had fun comparing strokes to par.  I'd say they were mostly at par.  Sis even got two holes-in-one!

And then it was time to go to our Owl Prowl at a nature center in Canton, CT.  We got there early, but Mama had to rush out for flashlights (the lady on the phone had said not to bring anything; the leader of the group said we needed them.)  She missed our first foray outside, when we visited the habitats of the rescued owls and then actually saw at a distance of about 20 yards the silhouette of a Barred Owl in a tree.  We watched for a few minutes before it flew off.  Mama got back in time to hear the presentation on North American owls and we definitely needed the flashlights in the dark woods behind the center.  Our leader has perfected the Barred Owl call, something akin to "who cooks for you?" he said.  And one of the center's rescued Barred Owls responded (the leader could recognize the owl Harry's slightly warped call.)  But then a symphony arose as at least one wild owl if not more joined Harry in song.  Gorgeous.  And you could still hear it deep into the woods as we saw where some owls used to nest in an old sycamore and then went into the meadow and looked at the stars, still hearing some of the symphony back and forth.  Really quite magical.


It was late by the time we left and so we grabbed fast food and headed back to our hotel, having a good night's sleep before the east-facing windows brightened the room (worst room-darkening curtains ever.)  We had a leisurely continental breakfast downstairs--some pretty good glazed cinnamon bear claws--and eventually left the hotel for our Saturday's big activity:  Patriot's Day celebration and programming at Historic Deerfield.  We had never been to the house museums that make up Historic Deerfield, thinking they were rather dry house museum tours focusing on obscure genealogies and decorative arts, but there were many other things going on to mark the anniversary of the "shot heard round the world" at Lexington and Concord. We made "liberty" tea bags with mint and lemon balm, talked to a docent about powder horn carving (which I compared to scrimshaw and was vehemently corrected.  I still say the crafts are similar--they're both carving on bone), and had a very lively interaction with the docents doing the cooking demo, who both discussed making drinking chocolate and then actually demonstrated how they made a coal bed for a baking kettle and put hot coals on the lid!  Really very interesting, even though I'd heard it described a dozen times.  Then we visited just one house because, indeed, we were right--a dry-as-dirt PAID docent droning on about clocks and wallpaper and portraits to ten-year-olds. Mercy, if I were the education director . . . .  We rushed off to the encampment where Sis enjoyed seeing a weapons demo on horseback--Mama and I learned about the efficacy of a sharp steel blade back by an 800 lb horse and a 200 lb man with gear--as the re-enactor said, he doesn't even have to exert much effort to be deadly (we laughed about how he decapitated that bad ol' Tory Watermelon in his demo!  I think you had to be there.)  I liked seeing the women cooking cornbread and beef stew outside.  And I LOVE the fife and drum music played by the Nathan Hale Ancient Fife and Drum Corps.  We also enjoyed our wagon ride up and down the preserved street, enjoying all the 18th-century houses.

And lunch was good, too!  We had a very tasty repast at Champney's in the Deerfield Inn, with French onion soup, chowder, a charcuterie, fish and chips, fried calamari, and poutine with maple pulled pork.  Mmm, mmm good.  While we were eating, the re-enactor rider from Lexington arrived announcing the beginning of hostilities at Lexington and Concord and General Gage's maneuvers.  The kids and I watched from the porch of the inn as the rider encouraged the captain to call up the local militia and then everyone marched off.  But instead of going to war, we went back to lunch.


Winding up our trip, we stopped at Richardson's for some ice cream (mmmm, purple cow and burnt-sugar and butter, which tastes like maple) and chocolates.  And we went to Webs, the largest yarn store in the country, which I had shopped online (at yarn.com) but didn't know was in Northampton!  Ooooh, what a place!  So many wonderful colors and textures.  So much temptation.  I chose a few skeins to make mandalas but didn't have an exact project in mind to go buying a dozen skeins.  I did learn about their line of Valley yarns, in all the different weights and lovely colors.  I'll be dreaming of things to make with those (I even took some photos so I could remember which weights I liked.)

Lastly, we stopped for Tibetan food at our favorite restaurant halfway home.  We got there just at 5 and so didn't have to wait as we usually do.  Another great meal:  mango dhara drinks, iced chai, avocado potato salad, spicy noodles (Thukpa Dhrangmo), chicken with noodles and veg (Gyathuk Ngopa), dumpling soup (Mokthuk), fried dumplings (Sha Momo), fried bread (Bhaklep), steamed bread (Tingmo), and vinegary slaw (Dhang-tsel.)  So, so good.  And the perfect end to another great 36 hour vacation!

At least we have today to ease into the work week tomorrow . . . .

Countdown to Easter

Thursday:
Sis stayed home because the doctor Thursday afternoon said she had probably had the flu and was only just getting over it (strep test negative.)  We lolled around, watching "Glee," our new show (yes, there are a lot of adolescent situations but it gives us a chance to talk--about sex, pleasure, responsibility, feminism, sexism, body issues, bullying, homophobia, acceptance, etc etc etc.)

Bud came home midday (it was just a half day) and we hung out for a bit before running off to an appointment, picking up some dinner, and having some frozen yogurt.

That evening, I was gone for three hours on a night shoot for a new promotional video for the historic house.  I was very self-conscious but eventually settled into my role as narrator and costumed interpreter.  In fact, though it was in no way like a movie, I had some insight into several things--waiting waiting waiting around while lighting, set, props, etc were set up; trying to keep the same lines fresh over and over again without tripping on any words; taking direction to turn my head this way, modulate my voice that way, move a prop another way, and emote half the sentence like I did in the first take and half like the second; getting the giggles when I flubbed a line (cursing, too); becoming super self-conscious of how I looked, sounded, and moved.  But I had a great time and the video turned out pretty well.  (If I know you personally IRL and you want to see a copy of it, I'll send it to you; just email me.)


Friday:
We were kinda dull on Friday, with Sis still recovering and Bud tired after a long week at school (he was probably fighting the virus Sis had without actually developing the flu.)  We had pizza and watched Beetlejuice, which holds up pretty well some thirty years later.  The kids didn't quite get it, but nobody was scared of the ghosts or sad about the deceased.

I finished crocheting a blanket for an old high school buddy with whom I've reconnected and sent it on its way; she's having surgery and I wanted her to know I was thinking of her.  It's my usual Giant Granny Square but with a new edging called the Crab Stitch (mainly reverse single crochet around a row of double crochet.)  The colors in the photo are a little muted because it was overcast--it's actually a lovely lavender, some deeper  light green, and blue.

I did manage some shopping for the last of our Easter grocery needs.  Our final menu includes deviled eggs, pimento cheese, ham, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, cheddar cheese rolls, green peas, and Shaker Lemon pie, with Zinger Sherbet Punch.   And I got some hyacinths and hydrangeas for Ma and for me.


Saturday:
The Easter Penguin came!    There weren't any wet footprints because we don't have carpet anymore, but he did leave the kids a set of Minecraft blocks.  We had asked Bud if he thought the Easter Penguin would come and Bud reiterated that the Easter Penguin was very reliable.

The kids skipped their morning activities, both because they weren't feeling great and because Ma and Gong arrived . . . . so we went to the movies instead!  Yep, went to see Zootopia, which was funny but also a good teachable moment on race, biological determinism, stereotypes, prejudice, free will, the role of police in society--it even had a plot to incriminate the "predators" by poisoning them with toxic flowers (see recent interview excerpts with Nixon lacky Ehrlichman who said the war on drugs was exaggerated to criminalize and oppress African Americans and hippies/war protestors.)  All it needed was #PredatorsLivesMatter.

We had lunch at a new traditional Mexican restaurant which serves fresh tableside-made guacamole, lots of grilled foods (including cactus!),  lots of authentic-seeming dishes, and fresh tortillas (I know, Texans, none of that sounds special but this is Connecticut.)  Some of it was even too spicy for Ma and Gong!

The afternoon was a hodgepodge of "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown," eating apple pie, Bud trying out Gong's tai chi sword, building an Easter nest (there were flowers in bloom this year!!), making origami bunnies and frogs, and eventually saying goodbye to Ma and Gong.

We planted a hydrangea to mark the almost-one-year anniversary of the death of beloved Aunt Sis (today, btw, was the first anniversary since my emergency surgery.)  We had planted two other hydrangeas this spring in her memory, but I think only one survived the winter (and my gardening!)

Then the "work" started!  We pulled out the Easter decorations and purged some of the books and things.  We always find extra egg decorating kits--and so Sis chose plain tab Pas dye and Bud did tie dye.  I drew on a few eggs with a Sharpie and a wax crayon--see my bunny, Bay Max, and Totoro.  Lots of fun.  Then I prepped some dishes while Mama made the traditional last-minute run to the store.  And the kids and I hid some eggs and left a basket for the little girl and boy across the street.

Whew!

And it's not even Easter yet.

A Fine Philly Weekend

After a hectic week of illness and appointments, we got away this weekend for about 30-hours in Philly.  Our dear friend was being ordained a United Church of Christ (UCC) minister so we took the opportunity to get away for a day.

We drove down on Saturday after kung fu and ice skating, one of our easiest forays on the Jersey turnpike.  We got to Philly, checked into the lovely historic Morris House Hotel in the Olde City, and headed straight for ice cream at Franklin Fountain, which we'd discovered two years ago.  In fact, I think we had mostly the same thing--Bud had Ladies' Choice which had peach ice cream in a raspberry soda; Sis had a chocolate milkshake; and I had a War Admiral, which was a soda with roses, ginger, and milk.  But Mama got something new:  a Dubliner Sundae, which had Irish whiskey ice cream, with a warm whisky cake, and a Guinness-caramel sauce, all so very good.  Yum!  The Irish theme went great with all the drunk college kids and 20-somethings on pub crawls all over the area around us.  One group would stumble out of the pub while another group would stumble off the crowded bus, with lots of loud laughter, shouts, and merriment.  The kiddos were a bit surprised, so we gave them a few pointers on navigating the sidewalks around drunk folks--mainly keep an eye on their weaving so you don't get in the way if they need to puke!   We also popped into the Shane Confectionery next door to grab some sweets for the road.

On the way back to the hotel, we passed the closed Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, so dark, quiet, and completely devoid of people.  We never wait in line to see the bell and so enjoyed an unobstructed view through the window.  One day we'll do the Independence Hall tour, but this time we settled for Bud rapping the opening song of Hamilton, even though Hamilton spent more time in NYC.

Dinner--I know, it was after dessert, but that's how the reservations worked--was at Jones Restaurant. It was comfort food at its finest--in a swanky setting reminiscent of the "Brady Bunch" with shag carpet,  formica-like tables, and wood detailing and lamps that look just like the Brady living room.  It was a great meal:  tater tots (off menu, suggested by Mama's coworker who suggested the restaurant), fried cheese curds, fried chicken and fries, grilled cheese and tomato soup, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and Bud's tuna tacos, which weren't exactly old-fashioned comfort food but still very good.  We even had apple pie and Duncan Hines Chocolate Cake.  Mama also had this odd grape juice/lemonade/Sprite soda combo.  The house manager saw the kids looking at the open kitchen and invited them up to watch and introduced them to Chef Lisa.  They watched a few orders being prepared until our food came.  All in all, it was a great dinner.

That night, after some DS-playing and reading, we all slept with the urban noises around us--people emptying garbage in the alley, the subway breaks under the sidewalks, the people on the streets, even all the birds sining in the early morning.  Which we saw because it was the beginning of Daylight Savings Time.  UGH.  We'd bought 9:30 tickets to see the "Magic of Pixar" exhibition at the Franklin Institute, forgetting about DST, so we were up early.  And then, we got caught in St. Patrick's Day parade traffic, which we weren't expecting.  

But we made it to the museum in time and the exhibition was excellent!  The kids loved manipulating all the stations, which explored the story in art, modeling, rigging, surface reflections (I forget what this is called), rendering, sets, etc etc etc.  They created settings, grew grass to certain specifications, adjusted lighting, drew models in 3D, and so much more.  And I think Mama had more fun with it than they did.  We all posed with the various characters set up around the show--the Monsters, Dory, Wall-e, Buzz Lightyear, and such.  I wasn't as interested, though I had fun making the grass thick or thin, curvy or straight, clumpy or evenly distributed and I also liked playing with the simulations of water, hair, clothes, etc. in Brave.  We kept teasing the kids about how integral all the math was to the art, since they complain about math in school.  But it's fun when its CGI manipulation.  Mama thought she'd even try to see if there were programs where they can start playing with animation.  Despite all of the fun we had, I was, however, very disappointed that there were no Brave souvenirs in the shop--it was all Monsters and Cars, even though the exhibition had as many girls having fun.  Shame on Pixar and the Franklin Institute.  At the end of our visit, Sis even rode the Sky Bike above the lobby of the museum, back and forth over a net, so high up!

We headed to my favorite restaurant, City Tavern, for lunch.  And what a lunch!  Buttery mushroom toast, spicy pepperpot soup, the yummy bread basket (Sally Lunn, Anadama, and sweet potato bisucits), Franklin chicken with Lunn breading and wine reduction and mashed potatoes, chicken pot pie, seafood pasta, and a cured and roasted pork chop that looked like ham.  We finished it with creme brulee, a fig and oatmeal bread pudding with amaretto sauce, and a vanilla corn cake.  And of course, raspberry shrub!  We'll have to make our own again this summer.  There was a table near us of women in full 18th-century dress, though we weren't sure if they were re-enactors or actual museum interpreters.  And we even talked to Chef Staib again!  He'd given the kids a free DVD a few years ago and posed for pictures; he kindly said he remembered.  He's always nice to diners and the staff said he's also good to work for.

After lunch, we headed out to the 'burbs for our friend's ordination.  It was a long ceremony, much like a graduation--complete with processional of folks in robes--with lots of prayers and songs and even a sermon.   There was also communion--which the UCC seems to welcome all to participate in; we had to explain communion to the kids.  Mama and I participated, in the spirit of community, as did Sis; but Bud just wasn't sure.   It was more Jesus-centered talk than our kids have ever heard, being UU and all, almost more than I've heard (and, as a child, I spent dozens of Sundays in churches with friends, be they Southern Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, no UCC though) but then it was an ordination welcoming our friend into ministry.  We saw her a bit before and talked to both her and her wife; they were so glad to see we'd come down.  I think it meant a lot to all of us that we were there.  We stayed for a bit of the light supper--baked ziti and Amish chicken!--but needed to head out soon after.  We did manage to see our friend afterwards and give her the stole I'd made.  She put it on right away and it fit and looked pretty good (which surprised me because I made up the pattern.)  Smiles all around.

And then we headed home, in the rain, on the turnpike, listening to Divergent the whole way home.  Whew.  What a weekend!  But though it was busy, it was a nice escape.  Maybe one day, we'll actually see the tour at Independence Hall!