Aside from the 10-hour drives which bookended our Thanksgiving trip, we had a wonderful week. And honestly, the travel days weren't that bad...pleasant weather and surprisingly light traffic. Fifteen of us (from Ca, Pa, Va, Ma, In and Oh) spent several days at my sister's, eating, playing cribbage & Pictionary, watching football, movies and a tape of those recent hoarding episodes from Oprah. (Imagine a roomful of slack-jawed disbelievers.) Lots of walks to make room for the next round of dips & snacks, meals & leftovers, muffins & pies. Probably like most of your Thanksgivings.
But the week wasn't all about turkey and muffins. Before everyone else arrived at my sister's, M & I ducked out for a spectacular day in Washington, a city we've spent a lot of time in since Molly & K both went to college there. First stop, the Renwick Museum, where we saw the current show, Going West! Quilts and Community. I'd wanted to see this exhibit since I read that it had been curated by Sandi Fox, author of two of my favorite books on 19th century quilts, Small Endearments and For Purpose and Pleasure. Well worth the trip, I'd recommend the show if you're going to be in D.C. before the close of the show in mid-January. Sadly (for you,) no photos allowed. The show's companion book does include all of the show quilts (and more) with accompanying essays on over fifty quilts brought to or made in Nebraska in the late nineteenth century.
Next stop, the National Gallery. I tend not to check beforehand what special shows are scheduled here because I know I can always enjoy a few hours wandering the permanent galleries. I never made it to those on Tuesday, though. When I saw the Edward Hopper show advertised in the lobby, I headed over to the East Building, tout de suite.
Again, a wonderful show (a good review here) which will be in Washington until January 21, 2008, after which it will travel to Chicago. (Glad I caught it last week as it's looking like I may never get to Chicago. *sigh*) Over recent years, I've marveled at the ingenuity of museum gift shop staff in developing product tie-ins to blockbuster shows. I thought I'd seen it all until I came across this display of cloche style hats in the Nat'l Gallery gift shop.
One more enthusiastic recommendation...and you don't need to travel to the Capitol to see it! The day after Thanksgiving always starts out somewhat lazily for us, with people slowly emerging from sleeping areas throughout the morning, sort of hungover from the all-day visiting, eating and playing of the holiday. Conversation eventually gets around to *what are we doing today?* and this year we agreed on movies, two at the same theater, to accommodate different tastes and ages. I joined my nieces at Enchanted, the new Disney flick about which I knew nothing. Highly recommend!! Drawing from the classic Disney princess story theme while concurrently poking fun at it, it starts out animated but quickly moves to live action, set in New York City. Despite its predictable outcome, the film is clever, funny and perfectly cast. Find a kid and head to the theater...it's the first film I can recall attending where the audience burst into spontaneous applause at the end. Even RottenTomatoes is giving it a 93 today!
You'll get to Chicago -- I know you will!
I saw the Hopper exhibit at the MFA last summer -- really enjoyed it. And thanks for the recommendation for Enchanted -- my little moviegoers are eager to see it.
Posted by: Kathy | November 27, 2007 at 10:53 AM
Sounds like a delightful break! Hmm, Enchanted DOES sound intriguing...
Posted by: Chris | November 27, 2007 at 11:16 AM
I would love to see both those exhibits. I don't think there's any hope in getting to DC before mid-January, but surely I can realistically aim to get to Chicago for the Hopper show.
Chin up about the move--it will happen.
Posted by: Kathie | November 27, 2007 at 11:24 AM
So jealous of the quilt exhibition!!! The Renwick has a special place in my heart....when I was living out there ('95) I attended the Nancy Crow exhibit there and was lucky enough to meet her (have her autograph my books) and meet her hand quilter Marla Hattabaugh.Great stuff. Glad to hear you had a super Thanksgiving!!
Posted by: Schnoobie | November 27, 2007 at 11:36 AM
I'm so envious, the food, game playing, movie and museum going, spending time with family. sounds incredible.
Posted by: Tonya R | November 27, 2007 at 12:08 PM
ewwww, i love it! such pretty pictures. i want one of those hat.
i love washington, d.c. unlike NYC, i feel like it's actaully less crowded during the holidays, because d.c. has such a trasient population.
thanks for the pictures.
Posted by: christina(apronstrings) | November 27, 2007 at 01:33 PM
Sounds like a wonderful holiday. Thanks for the reveiws. I won't make it to DC, but I suspect Enchanted is in the cards, so it's nice to know I'll enjoy myself.
Posted by: Nancy | November 27, 2007 at 04:17 PM
We just went to the Hopper exhibit too! I had to move through a bit faster than I would have liked, but c'est la vie with a 2 year old pulling you through the gallery saying "Touch! Touch!" - anyway, glad you had a nice weekend!
Posted by: Lauren | November 27, 2007 at 07:41 PM
You sure do make it sound like I missed a good Thanksgiving!
Posted by: molly! | November 28, 2007 at 03:58 AM
Don't quite believe those hoarders exist in reality?? My BIL is one and it's just incredulous to see the house he lives(?) in. Bizzare is a good word for it. Love the museum snapshots. Great exhibits!
Posted by: JudyC | November 28, 2007 at 02:53 PM
I really want to see that movie and not just because McDreamy is in it -- dancing. I also would like to own a slew of those hats. How fun are they?
Posted by: africankelli | November 28, 2007 at 03:33 PM
What a nice time you had!! Love all the pictures. And I agree with you, Enchanted was a FABULOUS movie!!
Posted by: Lynn | November 28, 2007 at 10:20 PM
Oh my gosh, I *love* cloche hats! And the one I have had been crushed and smooshed and bent out of shape. I should head to the National Gallery...!
Posted by: Thalia | November 30, 2007 at 10:09 AM
I haven't read your blog for a while, and thoroughly enjoyed it. A couple of things connected: I'm so looking forward to seeing that Hopper show in Chicago; I love the actress in Enchanted, want to see the movie, and am so glad she's getting the attention she deserves; and most importantly, if you haven't seen the discussion of Slow Cloth on this blog, I think you'd be interested in it. http://sharonb.wordpress.com/2007/12/15/what-is-a-slow-cloth/
Posted by: Kay | December 23, 2007 at 01:06 PM
Thanks so much for the review of the two shows. Living north of Baltimore, sometimes I overlook what is so close. I will be sure to see those exhibits before they leave. I managed to see the Gees Bend Quilts at the Walter in Baltimore, Baltimore Album Quilts at the Historical society and more.
Posted by: Dana | December 24, 2007 at 04:52 PM