I've got a Library of Congress library card do you?

When I heard my aunt wanted to come and see me for a weekend trip I just knew we had to go get library cards for the Library of Congress since after all she works at the library back home! How cool would that be I asked her? Well of course the idea was greeted with smiles. So we did our homework and found anyone over 18 can get a card. So off we went.

Once we found the little office where they dole out these little gems I stepped up to the counter only to be greeted by what at first seemed to be a cranky government worker type who promptly asked me "ARE YOU PLANNING ON DOING RESEARCH AND STARTING SAID RESEARCH TODAY? THESE CARDS ARE NOT FOR SOUVENIRS." Well the look on my face I'm sure was one of shock and suprise. I stated that I lived in Alexandria VA and that I had family in town with me. Well with that news her face loosened and she smiled and said "OH, YOU'RE LOCAL, WELL THAT'S A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR. COME ON IN AND LET'S GET YOU ALL CARDS" From then on she was jolly and oh so friendly. I'm sure her job gets frustrating with all the millions of people coming through everyday and all year round. Needless to say we are now proud owners of Reader Identification Cards for the Library of Congress. I can't wait to get my hands on some of those books!
This is a sneak peak view of the main reading room in the Library of Congress as seen through the window of a door. Since I didn't yet have my reader card I wasn't able to go in and take a pic so this one will have to do! What a beautiful building. And as one lovely and close pal said "It's Nerd heaven".

Visit with the Fam!

Here we are on the Metro on our way back to our apartment in VA after our afternoon in DC. I am collecting pictures of people that ride the metro with me. No, I did not cut off all my hair, it's just up for the day since it was so hot out!


Here are a few other pics from there weekend with us. Sculptures in the Torpedo Factory. For those of you who haven't been there with us, it's one of our favorite places to take people who like art.
Step outside the front doors of Union Station and look to your left and this is what you'll see. I just love the shapes and the light coming in.
A view of the capitol as we walk to the Library of Congress from Union Station. It looks so nice in the spring color and light. Too bad not much work actually gets done in there.

The Bear's Birthday Cabin Weekend!

The other weekend I rented a little cabin in the woods on the bank of the Shanandoah River for the weekend as a birthday present for the Bear. Since we work from home most days he never gets a chance to really relax and get away from work. We both love the quiet and simpler way of life so getting away for the weekend was wonderful. Our days were filled with fishing, canoeing, birdwatching and NO tv!!!

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise while the Bear slept in. I grabbed the fishing pole and tried my best to catch something before he woke up but I guess the fish were sleeping in as well.
Each evening we built a fire in the pit and I even roasted some marshmallows. It was lovely to listen to the crackel of the logs and the splashing of the jumping fish just a few feet away. I just know that there was a whopper living in there that we never did catch.
When we first arrived the Bear took my picture in my huge "Gone With the Wind" hat. I just love that hat. This is the same outfit I wore out on the canoe to go fishing. Just cause you're fishing doesn't mean you can't be fashionable!

Cherry Blossoms, Blue Bells and Easter Eggs, Oh My!

I haven't posted in some time but I have been taking pictures as the season gets underway. The leaves are out and everything is that fresh green that makes you hungry for a salad. The cherry blossoms came and made our world a wonderful pink color for about two full weeks before the storm came and blew them all away. The petals floated on the breeze and gathered along the streets and sidewalks in little pink petal drifts making you want to pick them up by the hand fulls and blow on them like fairy dust.

The bear and I took a stroll some time ago through the Bull Run park in Manassas on a trail called the bluebell trail and they were just starting to bloom. That's the bear in the background with his buffalo plaid jacket. What a beautiful day it was. The floor of the woods was carpeted in green with fresh little flowers everywhere.
I have talked about coloring eggs every year for as long as we have been married (8 years May 16th) but never got around to it. Finally this year I did it and the Bear was eager to help! We spent a lot of time figuring out how and what colors to use. The bear was so pleased with how they came iut that he insisted on me taking a picture before we ate them all! So here is your dose of color for the day, enjoy!

Ice Storm and Mail Art

A while back some of you back home in Ohio may have heard me talk about our crazy ice storm here in the beltway of DC. I thought that I would share a couple pictures from outside my apartment that night. Kind of interesting to look at. We have never had stand still bumper to bumper traffic stuck on our road like that before. It was stuck solid from 4:30pm till after 9pm that night. Poor commuters. Good thing I work from home!
They shut down the entire highway system right at rush hour due to the ice. Nice move DC.
Here are a couple pictures that I found pretty. I tend to send out postcards and letters in bunches and I liked the look of all the colors and patterns so before I popped them in the mail I took a few pics. You may see one that was sent to you in this pile!
Nothing says I love you like a hand written letter or postcard. It's not hard. In this day of e-mail it is even more important to reach out with pen and papaer to let a loved one know they are worth a moment of you time plus a stamp. Give it a try, you'll be suprised at the smiles and love that comes back your way.

All Boston Terrier Puppy Party, Yay! Or so I thought.

Most of you who know Beanie, know that she totally and completely thinks that she is human and resents any attempt to make her socialize with those things called "dogs". We have attempted several times to take her to the dog park to make some friends but that just results in tremorous shaking and very very large amounts of shoe-string drool that even Houch would be jealous of. The passed Sunday I took Beanie to a group of all Boston Terriers hoping that by being surrounded by all dogs that looked like her and who are all in her size range she would atleast make one friend. No such luck.
As you can see in the picture above there is not little 10 pound runt with a sweater any where near the fun.
She can be spotted in this photo doing what she does best, only being interested in dogs that aren't facing her. She likes them until they turn around to look at her then she runs to my feet and attempts to hide. She did venture away from me a few times only to get scared and run off on her own in a corner of the yard all by herself to sit and shake. Thankfully though it did go much better than the regular dog park with only a small amount of shoe-string drool this time.
After about 45 minutes she hid behind my feet as you can see and snapped at any dog that even came by to sniff noses. That was the sure sign of a tired pup that just wanted to go back home to the safety of her father's arms. I scooped her up and we made the journey home so that she could once again be with her people and not have to deal with what she thinks of as those things that don't speak her language. Hopefully next month she will make one friend. We'll see.

A package only a mother could send!!!!!

My mother despite having a very very busy schedule found time to take a half a day to create the most wonderful, thinking of you/pick me up package. As most of you know, my nickname sice childhood has been "Bean". Needless to say as a child I hated that name since when I was being rotten my mother would call me weanie bean and that really sent me into a tizzy. Well within the last few years I have really grown fond of this name and have embraced it with wild abandon. I sign packages and letters with a Bee shaped stamp and the letter N to create Bean! With that in mind my loving mother created a Bee themed package to brighten my day and it worked so well it brought tears to my eyes.
The package contains many different kinds of NUMI tea which my mother and I had been talking about. The pill bottle contains the most beautiful real bumble bee (no longer living of course) that may show up in a sketch or two later so look for that. The box on the right contains two bee pins that my mother found at an antique mall and instantly thought of me. I love them.
What is not shown here is what was contained on the bottom of the package which were typed pages of information on bees and some lovely drawing of different bees on special handmade paper. I will have to photograph these and post them later. All in all this package was asembled with such love and care right down to the sen envelope holding the tea and the hand stamped labels. What a gift!
I proudly wore one of the bee pins to Sunday Brunch that weekend. I LOVE YOU MOM!!!!!!

Love, Bean

Our Celebrity Friend! The Colbert Portrait Adventure...

For those of you who join us in the love for The Colbert Report you may be jealous to know that the famous portrait is visiting us in DC!!! If you are a fan then you are aware that the portrait is currently enjoying a limited visit in the National Portrait Gallery. Brian and I decided to take the metro to Chinatown and visit Stephen in his temporary home! When you walk into the museum the gaurd looks inside any bags that you may be carrying and when he was done looking through my suitcase of a purse he looked up at me and asked if I was there to see Stephen and proceeded to point us in the right direction which for those of you who haven't heard is the second floor bathroom! Yep, that's right he's in the bathroom. When you walk down the hall you will encounter a group of people gathered to take a peak of Stephen who is above the drinking fountains outside the doors to the restrooms.

How could we even think of going and not taking a picture? So much fun!
I, Rachel Mohler have art in the National Portrait Gallery in DC!!!! If you go room E251 and view the visitor's log you will find a sketch of mine. How cool is that?
Here is my quick pen sketch of the arrangement on the table behind the visitor's log.
Here's the inspiration for my wonderfully beautiful NPG sketch!

Tour of DC with Shan!

We began our tour by picking up the tour bus at Arlington cemetary and our first stop was old Abe himself.

We searched for angles that were interesting and creative.
His hand has always fascinated me. When you turn around this is the view that Abe is privy to everyday of the year.
I have not actually ever been this close before to the White House. Always telling myself that seeing it from the car window was good enough, so it was nice to have someone to walk around with to get my butt out and see things at a closer view!
A tour guide gave us a heads up on where to grab lunch. Around the corner from the White House is the Old Ebbitt Grill where we just made it before the lunch rush!
As we were ending our day the day was turning cold and we were growing weary. The monument by sunset is a great sight!

Shan and I on the Metro on the way back home after a trip to the Phillips Collection! What a great art collection! Well worth the trip and the price of admission.

Shan thank you so very very much for coming up and making my week a wonderful one!

Shan's First Night in Alexandria!!!

My great arty friend Shan made the trek up to visit me and I am so very glad that she did. After her long drive up I took her around town for some dinner and a little evening window shopping.
In the evening the colors in the windows are almost magical.
Since I do not wander around town in the evening I was not aware that all the shops close by 5 or 6pm so we didn't get to do much shopping but we did see lots of windows to Ooo and Ahh over.
These pumpkins and gourds won't rot and really make you crave fall year round.

The Many Moods of Trees!

While walking along the path I looked up and had to snap this shot! How magical this day was.
This tree was is at Fort Ward just down the street!
Sometimes the shadows are more interesting than the tree itself.
I could sit and stare all day long.
The roots along the trail were beautiful. I imagined a little creature living here and being the star of a magical children's book!