day 3

national 9/11 pentagon memorial


franklin d. roosevelt memorial


mlk jr. national memorial


holocaust memorial museum



hirshhorn museum & sculpture garden


national museum of american history


dobbin house (gettysburg, pa)

day 2

capitol building


library of congress



arlington national cemetery

iwo jima memorial

spy museum

making history... day 1

E and I are in Washington D.C. for the first of 5 days on the east coast, exploring U.S. history with 26 of her classmates & 3 additional parent chaperones. we took the red-eye last night, and are prepared to be exhausted by the end!

here we go...



mt. vernon



newseum


national air & space museum

washington memorial


jefferson memorial


white house

korean memorial


vietnam memorial


lincoln memorial

weekend to do

off to D.C. & Philadelphia! i'll try and check in - if these 8th graders don't tire me out too much! xo

back & forth

back to our routine just in time to gear up for another departure. as I mentioned, E and I are heading to D.C. for five days of history, including visits to gettysburg and philadelphia. we are both very excited.

not growing up on this side of the 49th parallel, i admit i know very little u.s. history (aside from our role as a safe haven for slaves - canada abolished slavery in 1833 - and confederates during the civil war - after losing at gettysburg, general george pickett fled to canada.) both girls have been studying u.s. history this year, so i feel i have a basic understanding, and look forward to learning more. to feeling the history around me.

amsterdam felt so full of history. and reminded me of stories from my childhood. these shoes - one from my recent trip, and the other sent to my mom by her uncle, who was stationed in the "Nederlands". i've always been fascinated by my mom's shoe bank - and the story it represented. i couldn't resist picking up another.

weekend to do

open house at the ranch
catch-up

around the house
see where things are at after a week away!
pack for D.C.! (E and 27 of her classmates, another mom and myself head there next Saturday. go go go!)






waiting in the airport for my flight - now to Paris, though just for a moment - and then on to L.A. (Lufthansa pilots are on strike, and my original path has been rerouted to KLM and Air France.) looking forward to getting home. must add it has been a wonderful week. i do love amsterdam. the people (so warm). the city (such a lovely size). and the exhibition looks to be very well received. now to work on additional venues...

Amsterdam : Day 3

homes near the portuguese synagogue


joods historisch museum








evening walk

a very successful day. wonderful opening events. coverage in two major newspapers. they have done such a lovely job with this exhibition. so thoughtful. you could feel rbk's presence.

tomorrow home.

Amsterdam : Day 2

or "I Could Photograph Canals All Day"









flower market


Anne Frank House (third building from the left is the original house - the museum now includes the adjoining three buildings on the right)


Van Gogh Museum


garden at the Rijksmuseum


Gallery of Honor (The Night Watch) at the Rijksmuseum



I was thinking, I should do little guides. tours of cities I love in under 48 hours. perhaps they already exist. while my ideal trip has more time, and my family with me, I feel like I've mastered the art of the "cultural business trip" (with good food included!). this one has not disappointed.

tomorrow will be full of celebration for the exhibition. must get some sleep!

hallo!

i arrived in Amsterdam this afternoon for a quick trip around the opening of the exhibition R.B. Kitaj: Unpacking My Library at the Joods Historisch Museum.

spring is in the air - and Amsterdam seems to be promising me a lovely few days.







everyone was out on the cafe patios enjoying the late afternoon. (including me.)

followed by wonderful traditional dutch indonesian meal - Rijsttafel - at tempo doeloe

and a walk back to the hotel along the canals

weekend to do

school garden workday (oh weeding!)

final prep for travel & all the bits and pieces to get in line here before I leave!
(I had a bunch of questions to ask you - shoes to take, battery case for my phone... but alas, time is tight. so off I go.)



you can follow me in Amsterdam here, and more on why I'm there, on the R.B. Kitaj Studio Project instagram

unified.

yesterday K participated in the Rod Dixon KiDMARATHON at Dodger Stadium. This is the kick-off event for the L.A. Marathon, as well as the culmination of 3 weeks of preparation by the marathon team at her school. the team is coached by our after-school "Youth Services" leader. this *free* program is available to all LAUSD elementary and middle school students. the ratio is a little daunting at times - one coach watching over 100 or so students - but I am constantly and consistently impressed with this program. K doesn't usually stay after school (another perk of working from home) but did in order to be a member of the marathon team. the team had to run 25 miles over the last few weeks, and then completed their marathon (1.2 miles) at Dodger Stadium early Sunday morning. (ouch! time change pain!)

i have been working / volunteering in our large, cumbersome, impersonal school district for over 10 years now. and as large, cumbersome and impersonal as it is, events like this remind me of why we are here. The Los Angeles Unified School District is Los Angeles. with I'd guess around 12,000 kids participating in this event (250 elementary schools represented) you felt like you were in the midst of something very special. these kids are our future L.A. and they are awesome. so proud of my girl. so proud of these kids. so proud of our school. so proud to be part of this District.

and props too, to their parents. who perhaps can't show up to every school activity during the week due to work schedules (with often more than one job). (there's been lots of buzz re: apathetic parents lately. lack of parent engagement. engagement does not = writing cheques!) they were there. they got up early and brought their kids and cheered them on at the top of their lungs. the love for neighborhood schools was palatable.

Los Angeles UNIFIED.




i'll add for posterity, k tied for 2nd out of the girls running in her group. she is a natural. those long legs. best part is that she ran with a friend the entire way. they crossed the finish line together - high-fived, then giant hug. love.

weekend to do

I'll be joining this painting in Amsterdam in a week! my schedule is pretty full with events (I'm representing the RBK Estate in conjunction with the opening of this show) & meeting up with an old friend - but wonder if you have any hidden "musts" i should get on my itinerary. (it has been nearly 20 years since I was last there.)

prepare to pack for cooler weather

around the house
weed (always weeding)
living room window wash
hang pictures
mop shed