holiday stuff
Dec. 24th, 2014 05:57 pmFYI, I am in Washington, DC. We're doing Christmas at Vicky's house this year -- her housemate is away visiting her own family, so I'm in the guest room and our parents are in the housemate's room. I took a bus from Ithaca to NJ on Monday, and Mom, Dad, and I drove south on Tuesday. We visited my Aunt Jan Tuesday afternoon and evening, and got takeout Chinese when Vicky finished work for the day and drove over.
Today we saw the Capitol Christmas Tree that stands in front of Congress, the Botanic Garden (which is doing a lighthouse theme for their model railway and "let's build cool models out of plants!" project this year), and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, aka a really giant Catholic church. It is an astonishing sort of building -- much starker than most European cathedrals, but with amazing mosaics all over the ceilings and side chapels. It is also relentlessly focused on Mary, more so than any other church I have ever seen.
Dinner should be ready soon, and then we're going to the 10pm Xmas Eve service at All Souls, which is Vicky's church.
Tomorrow we'll do Christmas in the morning. Uncle Charles, Aunt Ji-lan, and my cousins Michael and Benjamin will arrive sometime in the afternoon -- probably 3 or 4pm -- and we'll have an extended family dinner. Friday is for more touristy stuff -- the current plan is one of the Smithsonian museums, and then a movie in the afternoon (I think the one about Turing?) -- Saturday is for the drive back to NJ, and on Sunday I will return to Ithaca.
And then I can get back to job hunting. *sigh*
Today we saw the Capitol Christmas Tree that stands in front of Congress, the Botanic Garden (which is doing a lighthouse theme for their model railway and "let's build cool models out of plants!" project this year), and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, aka a really giant Catholic church. It is an astonishing sort of building -- much starker than most European cathedrals, but with amazing mosaics all over the ceilings and side chapels. It is also relentlessly focused on Mary, more so than any other church I have ever seen.
Dinner should be ready soon, and then we're going to the 10pm Xmas Eve service at All Souls, which is Vicky's church.
Tomorrow we'll do Christmas in the morning. Uncle Charles, Aunt Ji-lan, and my cousins Michael and Benjamin will arrive sometime in the afternoon -- probably 3 or 4pm -- and we'll have an extended family dinner. Friday is for more touristy stuff -- the current plan is one of the Smithsonian museums, and then a movie in the afternoon (I think the one about Turing?) -- Saturday is for the drive back to NJ, and on Sunday I will return to Ithaca.
And then I can get back to job hunting. *sigh*