Virginia – Page 19 – ToadMama.com

March 22, 2013

A REALLY Cool Museum

Last weekend, when the grand kids were visiting, we took them to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. As explained on the center’s web site…

The center is “…the companion facility to the Museum on the National Mall. The building opened in December, 2003, and provides enough space for the Smithsonian to display the thousands of aviation and space artifacts that cannot be exhibited at the Museum in Washington, DC. The two sites together showcase the largest collection of aviation and space artifacts in the world.

It’s a REALLY big place. The artifacts shown in the photos are not scale models, they are all the real deal.

It’s quite an impressive place.

Saying it’s “really big” is a bit of an understanding. It’s ginormous. Seriously.

I didn’t take notes, so I can’t tell you much about most of this stuff. Sorry.

They had aircraft of all shapes and sizes. From a very wide variety of eras.

There’s also a cool observation area that simulates an air traffic control tower. It overlooks Dulles Airport and on clear days during busy airport arrival and departure times (it was overcast and slow while we were there), you can see lots of planes. You can even listen in real-time as the tower talks to the pilots. My geekometer was spiking a bit there.

Supposedly, lines can get really long to get to the tower, so we went early. Timing wasn’t great, but it was still nice to see.

Brianna got a big kick out of the various illustrations on the aircraft. The boys, of course, were most impressed by the missiles and guns.

The next picture is my favorite shot from the museum. Because the lighting is right and it just shows the wide variety of stuff packed in there.

This next artifact is the crown jewel of the center. Both because of its significance and it’s size. Again, this is no scale model.

The lighting made it tough to get good pictures. But I did my best.

It was quite interesting to get that up-close-and-personal with the real space shuttle.

There were all sorts of displays there.

The specially-equipped airstream camper served as a mobile decontamination unit for astronauts returning from the moon.

udvar-hazy-19 — Japanese Kamikaze Aircraft

I hadn’t realized the Enola Gay was there. So seeing that is what impressed me most that day. My grandmother knew the navigator who was on the flight that dropped the first atomic bomb, from the Enola Gay, onto Hiroshima, Japan.

The kids were really well-behaved. They held out until about 2:00 when we finally decided it was time for lunch. There’s a McDonald’s right in the center, which was convenient.

We only stuck around a little while longer after we ate. It became obvious that the kids were getting bored when we realized they were more enthralled with their Happy Meal toys than the airplanes and stuff.

So off we went to our next fun destination. I’ll have to tell you about that in my next post.

Is that a REALLY cool museum or what?

March 12, 2013March 12, 2013

Better Late Than…

I’ll be honest. One of my favorite sayings is, “better late than pregnant.” But since I just found out that one of my blogging buddies in Thailand — Jade at Tasting Grace — is pregnant, and I am SUPER excited for her and her cute hubby, I just couldn’t bring myself to use that as a title for this post. She and her cute little husband are going to be the best parents.

As I was looking through pics last night, I realized just how bad I have been about posting here lately. I mean, some of these pics are from February. And we’re already very close to mid-March.

But I still thought they were worth sharing.

Another Valentine's Day display. — Another Valentine’s Day display.

I absolutely LOVE looking at the various store windows on Old Town Warrenton’s Main Street.

My buddy Janet at The Empty Nest has the most-beautiful Spring window.

I didn’t take that picture, but didn’t think she’d mind me sharing it with you.

Speaking of The Empty Nest, this is one of the adorable little items offered for sale there.

I just love that store.

This sign was in the window at Shelf Life, another gem on Main Street.

A simple message that everyone should subscribe to.

You all know how much I love this store, right?

Oh, and here are a couple of cool house and porch captures.

I really love blue houses. And I am such a sucker for red.

A blue house with TWO red doors. How can I not love that?

Funny story… while out shooting snow pics on Wednesday morning, I met a guy named Carlos (I think that was his name, anyway) who said he lived at 25 N. 6th. I didn’t realize that was this blue house. Otherwise I would have told him just how much I love his charming abode. His name might have been Ron. Or Bob. I’m awful with names.

Here’s another N. 6th Street neighbor’s place.

Is this the cutest porch or what?

And this image was captured at The Berkley Gallery.

Even buildings is slight disrepair hold some charm. The lines of this place always capture my eye.

Speaking of lines… I really like this last shot, too.

Next, I’ll have to share some of the great captures from my girlfriend getaway.

I really am trying hard to get caught up. On posting AND reading.

To all my blogging buddies who are probably feeling a bit abandoned, I have NOT forgotten you.

March 11, 2013

Life in the Snow Belt

For the second time this year, our quaint little town of Warrenton, Virginia was blanketed under snow. What’s odd is that many of our neighbors, family, and friends to the east hardly saw anything. Schools were closed in many parts of Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland. Most places, it just rained.

Here, we got about 11 inches of VERY heavy, wet snow.

Hubby drove to work the next day, with his truck still mostly covered (he can’t reach the top of the cap), and people looked at him like he trucked snow in from Alaska.

So, Hubby says he thinks we moved to the snow belt.

Judging by this map, I’d say he was right.

The same thing happened in February, but only with a few inches of snow that time. Fifteen minutes to the east of us, the ground was barely even wet.

Not that I’m complaining. I like snow. I was tickled to wake up to about six inches last Wednesday (March 6).

Here are some pics I captured around town that day.

The family that shovels together... — The family that shovels together…

Seeing how the snow stuck to the trees, I guess you can understand why we lost power. Trees and branches were coming down all over the place, taking out electric lines, poles, etc., as they fell.

Hubby with the snow blower about midday.

Another two to three inches of slushy snow fell after he was finished. Topped off with a layer of rain.

We were without power for almost exactly 12 hours. Lots of people went without power for a couple of days.

I met one of the neighbors on Main Street. Her name is Amy. Her Mom is Jan.

The next day was gorgeous.

And that was our big snow event.

Friday and Saturday were quite warm, so the snow melted like crazy.

And Sunday? It got up to the mid 60s. We went for a motorcycle ride. Sort of surreal with snow on the mountains and piled along the road, but awesome nonetheless. I am SO ready for riding weather. 🙂

January 11, 2013January 11, 2013

The Red Truck Bakery

It was a pretty day here in Old Town Warrenton (OTW) yesterday. So I decided to go for a lunchtime stroll.

Now, if I am being honest, I had a mission. I’d seen an interesting step ladder in the window at the Salvation Army thrift shop with a tag that said $12. Twelve dollars? A steal! It looked like it would have made a good painting project. (As if I don’t have a large enough backlog!) So I wanted to go and check it out before someone else, you know, some other paint-happy compadre, snatched it out from under me.

I’m glad I went. It really was a gorgeous day. Of course, I had to take some pictures.

The Old Jail Museum is next to the courthouse. And across the street from that is the Red Truck Bakery.

The bakery is in an old Esso gas station. It is the cutest little place. I just love the way it looks from the outside. For a change, I decided to go in.

And you know what? It’s just as cute on the inside.

While there, I bought myself a Spinach & Feta Croissant for lunch. Which was good, I must say.

And portable! I ate it as I continued making my way to the Salvation Army thrift shop.

To make a long story short, I didn’t buy the piece I had my eye on. It was cute, but it was a reproduction stool, made to look old, and had this very unattractive unfolding mechanism that just turned me off.

I did find a couple of other treasures, though.

Two interesting frogs for my collection. And a 1950s copy of The Joy of Cooking, which I just HAD to have.

I don’t collect old books. But The Joy of Cooking is one of my favorite cookbooks. And the charm of the 50s-era copy grabbed me.

I bought one other thing, which I plan to give to a friend. So I can’t show it here.

As I made my way home, I was again taken by how pretty the sky looked, so I snapped some more pics.

I can’t help myself. This town is just so darn picturesque!

Is it tacky to buy your friends gifts at the thrift shop?

Speaking of friends… this shot I captured a while back of one of my besties, Carol, will forever be one of my favorite images.

Happy Friday, folks! I wish you all a relaxing, safe, and fun-filled weekend. Temps are supposed to be April-like here in the Virginia Piedmont, so I bet you can guess what Hubby and I will be doing!

January 6, 2013

No Agenda

Sometimes it’s good to have days without any real agenda. Like today.

Peaceful snowman captured yesterday at The Empty Nest.

Earlier in the week, I was thinking about going into DC today for the motorcycle show. I need a new helmet. But that would have eaten up a big chunk of time. And since I also needed to put away all of the Christmas decorations, I elected to stay home and do that instead.

Fun, right?

I’m glad it’s done. I have lots of projects around here that I really want to dive into. But I had to get the decorations stowed first.

It was actually a pretty day here. So after a couple of hours of looking at three bored dogs, I took a break and we walked during the daylight hours for a change.

K and Belle waiting for me to emerge from the basement.

That shot of the young’uns was captured with my phone, sans flash, which is why it’s so dark and grainy. I got this shot of Meg on Saturday while I was preparing to leave for my painting class.

The shot of Meg was captured with my DSLR camera. I can’t remember if I used the flash or the light was just right.

The cell phone actually takes pretty decent shots. Like this one I captured of the courthouse here in Old Town Warrenton during our walk today.

It was a nice walk. Once we got home, I resumed undecorating the house. I actually finished, too.

After that it was football (Ravens vs. Colts) and more football (Redskins vs. Seahawks).

It would have been nice to squeeze a ride in today. But I just didn’t feel like it.

I was too busy enjoying my day with no agenda.

Now, I think I’ll get back to it.

January 5, 2013

The Big Transformation

Shortly after Hubby and I moved to Warrenton in October of 2011, I discovered a cool consignment shop where I bought this funky little table.

I loved it. Hubby hated it. The high-gloss white was a bit much. As were the furniture tacks around the edge. But I thought it had character. And I knew I could paint it one day.

Fast-forward a year.

Hubby removed the tacks for me this morning before I left the house with the table.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, today was a big day for me. My very first chalk paint workshop at The Empty Nest.

The Empty Nest , 92 Main Street, Warrenton, Virginia

The Empty Nest is a delightful shop owned and operated by Janet Metzger, a woman who is as nice as they come that LOVES painting, sewing, and just about anything else crafty. She’s quite talented.

Janet is a proud stockist of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP). It’s that paint which first drew me to Janet’s store. I was beyond excited when her store opened last July. I even made sure I went to the grand opening.

I’ve always liked decorating furniture. And ASCP is the perfect furniture paint. It requires no sanding, no stripping, no priming. Heck, you don’t even have to remove the hardware if you don’t want to. It’s easy peasy. As long as you know how to use it.

And today, FINALLY, I learned how to use it.

I’ve experimented with it before, without a whole lot of success. So I was really ready to see how things were supposed to be done.

That sweet Hubby of mine bought me a gift certificate for today’s Bring Your Own Piece Workshop. Which is where my funky little table and I spent the day.

There were five other women in the class with me. None were keen to have their faces appear in photos. I hate having my picture taken, too. But I did manage to capture some shots of their projects to share.

The first step was deciding what color or colors to use. I chose Graphite for the top, Old Ochre for the base, and two accent colors, Emperor’s Silk (red) and Arles (yellow). I wanted to add some unique color but, for Hubby’s sake, didn’t want to go too crazy. He’s a little more conservative than me.

Okay, a lot more conservative. But anyway…

It was fun watching fellow students transforming their own pieces.

Of course, Janet was there every step of the way. She consulted on color choices, demonstrated techniques, coached, chatted, cheered us on, etc. She fed us lunch, too, which was provided by my favorite Great Harvest Bread Company.

Have I mentioned how much I like Janet and her shop? Just about every person who has come to visit us in Warrenton since The Empty Nest opened has been dragged into her store. She’s going to get sick of seeing me one day…

One of my classmates was kind enough to take some pics of me. So I could prove that I really did participate.

Do I look like I was having fun? I was. Really.

14_painting_class — What a pretty clock!

Every single student left with a very cool, hand-painted piece of furniture. It was awesome. I couldn’t wait to get home with my “new” piece.

See how cute it looks in my foyer?

I am really happy with how it turned out.

Here’s a shot of the table in the foyer from a couple weeks before Christmas…

And here’s the table after its big transformation…

It fits my style and decor so much better than the glossy white table. The Old Ochre color is so much warmer, and it lends itself much better to the whole distressed look.

I like that color so much, I think it’s going to go on my dining room chairs, too.

See, Janet? I will be back soon. I have to buy more paint!

So… what do you think?