YarnBomb!

Coming from the Berkeley, and having worked in the entertainment and food & beverage industries, I'm used to seeing and participating in all kinds of creative expression.  I love working with artists of all kinds and exploring my own creativity.

I particularly like public art and new ways to push the envelope.  When I left the San Francisco Bay Area heading to suburban Virginia for training, I figured my days of seeing spontaneous bursts of public art were over for a while.

But I was wrong!  I saw some urban art on my way to FSI this morning and it was very exciting!

At the bus stop on the corner of Wilson and S. George Mason.

It's a YarnBomb!

Wikipedia states that yarnbombing is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint or chalk.

Here's a link to a yarnbomb that happened at the Berkeley Library.


And there's even a book!

ConGen

ConGen is the nickname for the Consular Studies course here at FSI (Foreign Service Institute).  Since every officer is required to serve in a consular position at least once prior to getting tenure, everyone ends up taking ConGen early in their career.

ConGen is 6 weeks long and I had been concerned that it would be very dry and boring.  After all - you're learning about the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and how it's applied today.  Since I'm not a lawyer and most of what I know about the law I learned from watching Law and Order, I was fully prepared to suck it up and knuckle down and just get through it.

Boy-Howdy have I been surprised.  FSI has either managed to find the best instructors ever - or they've got the best instructor training program around.   Each one of our instructors has conveyed all the intricate information in ways that are clear and organized and very interesting.  Their enthusiasm about the topics shine through and infect the rest of us.

It never occurred to me that it could all be so interesting.  Learning the intricacies of passports and nationality, immigration visas and non-immigration visas and American Citizen Services is really fun.  I know I'm sounding like a big nerd - and maybe I'm becoming one.  I have been learning and understanding the lingo and sometimes when I hear myself use it, I have to pause and laugh at myself.  Who knew that I would ever be able to speak, much less understand, the "government speak"?

I am really looking forward to my consular post!

Reason Magazine has a great cartoon about immigration.

Thunderstorms and Rainbows

We have a lot of thunderstorms here in Virginia.  It seems like every night (and sometimes in the afternoon), the clouds roll in and then the thunder and lightning and rain starts.  I just love it!  Coming from California I'm used to cold rain - which is also quite wonderful.  But this warm, balmy rain is absolutely glorious!  It always makes me feel like I'm in some tropical paradise on vacation.

Of course, when the clouds roll in the afternoon, it means the end of pool time - which can be a real drag.  The rule is that if there's thunder, it's out of the pool for 30 minutes.  If there's lightning - it's 60 minutes.  Either way, it usually means the end of swimming for the day.

One night I was fortunate to be at a rooftop party celebrating a Vibrant colleague's 30th birthday.  There was a thunderstorm off in the distance and it was like being in a movie watching the clouds periodically light up from the lightning.  The storm was far enough away so we didn't have to leave the rooftop.  The other amazing thing about that party was that it was the first rooftop party I've ever been to where we didn't end up shivering back in the apartment.  I guess that's one of the big differences from the Bay Area where each night, the fog rolls in and the sweaters come out.

Two nights ago, the thunderstorm was incredibly loud and right overhead.  It was as though we were inside the orchestra during the Brandenburg Concerto.  The lightning was flashing constantly and the rain was just pouring down.  It frightened the kids, but K. and I stood on the balcony and just watched it all (of course after we got the kids calmed down).

Last night, the rains came early and we had a double rainbow.  Just beautiful!

Thank You For Your Service!

This message recently went out on some of the Foreign Service boards:

My husband is a Marine Corps reservist who just finished Command and Staff College at Quantico. One of his teachers sent the following email around, from a colleague in Afghanistan:

Marines in need of contact and support. These Marines are deployed in AFGH with no next of Kin or family/friends corresponding with them or able to afford packages.

Send by priority mail flat rate boxes you can obtain at Post Office or on-line. You also need to attach a customs form. Special rates for military  packages are around $12.00 large box. On customs form just list magazines, food, estimate value at $12.00, otherwise if list valuable contents they will be stolen, Boot socks (Merino) are needed as they go through a few pair a week on patrol, baby wipes, jerky, cigarettes, dip, chew, candy (It reaches 120-130 degrees in summer so some will melt, This is also the sandstorm season for 120 days in South so face masks, scarfs are used. magazines, books, underwear, bug spray, sunscreen,. Winter in goes down to near 0 so gloves, hats, socks, hand warmers etc. All packages are X-rayed.

Among all the other ways they serve, marines staff the Post One at most Embassies and Consulates - they keep us and the work we do safe.   So of course we have a special place in our hearts for them.  When this email went out, my Vibrant colleagues organized some care packages for the folks who are out there serving their country.

My kids made some pictures to go in the packages

 In case you don't have fluency reading level in 1st grade writing it reads:

Thank you for all the srvs (service) you give us!!!!!!!!!

And

If you'd like to put together your own care packages to send - just click here.

I found a new market!!!

As those of you who know me are aware, I am a foodie and really need to have a variety of good quality food products to cook from.  When we lived in Berkeley, we were quite spoiled with multiple farmer's markets, a variety of specialty food stores and the best grocery store in the world.

Since moving to Falls Church, it's been a challenge to get a good variety of quality produce and goods.  We've been making do with the local Safeway and Whole Foods - but either the variety and quality can be limited (and the prices can be quite high!).

But we've recently found a new grocery store with a great variety and a lot of very fresh product.

As you can see - the products are really fresh.  And the prices and variety are great!    It's not the Berkeley Bowl - but you can't have everything.

Old Town Alexandria

We've been trying to more of the DC sights and we recently went to Alexandria's Old Town.  It's a really cute city that lots of interesting shops and restaurants and is full of historical sites to see.

We headed down early on a Sunday morning and got coffee and pastries and strolled along the waterfront.  It's right on the Potomac south and east of DC and the waterfront is really pretty. 

I've been trying to figure out ways to get the kids more engaged in the various museums and historical places we visit.  I met a colleague who was recently back from Turkey and he shared how he got his young kids interested in all the sites around Turkey - he was able to break it down into bite-size pieces at their level so that they were able to grasp it and get excited.  That ability is definitely not one of my strengths, but this is a great time to work on developing it.

So with that in mind, we set out to do the Kids Scavenger Hunt  in Old Town Alexandria.  What a great activity!!!  Not only did the kids get engaged in the various historical sites, but they also got to hone their detective and map reading skills.  And they worked on their reading and writing as well.  And an added bonus was that as they navigated the town, K. and I got to stroll along, taking in the sites and having good conversation!

And here is the completed Scavenger Hunt.

National Museum of the Marine Corps

Yesterday we had a great opportunity to visit the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

One of my vibrant colleagues was kind enough to arrange a special tour for a group of us.  We had two tour guides (Marine Volunteers) who told us great stories.  The museum itself is quite fascinating with some very realistic exhibits.  Here's a link for a virtual tour and here's a clip of what you can expect.

 

Of course on the way home I was peppered with all sorts of questions about what happened during which war and was the Cold War really cold.