Weekend in Washington DC

Just returned from a good weekend in DC. Walked down the Mall to Capitol Hill, where we saw three senators enter the building where they would vote to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Ate a delicious lunch of Spanish tapas at Bodega in Georgetown before doing a spot of shopping and taking the bus to Dupoint Circle. Watched the Senate vote on C-Span at, appropriately, the Human Rights Campaign shop. Browsed at Kramerbooks where GH showed me Gaston Bachelard's The Poetics of Space. Had drinks at 30 Degrees, above Cobalt, and then at JR Grill and Bar, where I embarrassed GH by singing to The Sound of Music.

Back in R and SW's house, we ate a delicious lobster dinner, and admired her fiber art. I especially liked the "Blue Bamboo" series. "Permission to fly," the expressionistic quilt in the dining room, was also very beautiful. During dinner GH and SW argued over their father's art. GH had shown me "Granny," a wooden bust. He described another piece, an Indian squaw holding the hand of a little white boy in shorts, with a face like his father's. It was a pure fantasy, not copied from any pictures.

Back from the Czech Republic for the holidays, EW talked about living and teaching there. The diet of cabbage and apple strudel. The homemade brandy to keep warm in minus 30 degree Celsius. The well-supported public schools. The Communist-era pay of doctors. She will soon be able to apply for EU citizenship, and live in Germany or France, if she wishes. She is also designing a series of textbooks for a dying Indian language.

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