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This weekend my family traveled up DC to see the Terra Cotta Warriors, a fabulous exhibit on display now through March 31, 2010 at the National Geographic Museum.  As we talked about it, my husband realized he had a high school friend, Sadie Quarrrier, who worked there for the magazine.  When he contacted her she told us she would be happy to show us around the magazine.  I have read National Geographic from cover to cover virtually every month since we started getting a subscription when I was a kid.  I was thrilled.  Sadie is a photo editor and walked us through amazing photos from a story that ran in the November issue on the Stone Forest of Madagascar.  All of the photos were beautiful and I can only imagine how hard it is to decide on which photos can make it into the magazine.  Sadie also showed us how a story is brought to life from conception to publication, showing us upcoming issues that were currently being laid out and explaining some of the difficult decisions that come with each issue.  My kids carefully listened and now have a great appreciation for what it takes to bring National Geographic’s stories to life.  I know my youngest has been bitten by the photography bug, she used all of the batteries in her camera over the weekend.

On the way home I realized what a wonderful opportunity Sadie had given us and started to think about who else we might know.  I know my kids would love to tour a factory, visit a Navy ship, have a pilot or flight attendant show them the inside of a cockpit, see the inside of an operating room or even visit a bank vault.

Thank you so much Sadie!  Maybe one of my kids will grow up to be a writer, photographer or conservationist.

You can get a year of National Geographic for $15!

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This weekend we went to see the Terra Cotta Warriors at the National Geographic Museum in DC. The exhibit is on display there through March 31 and is the final venue of the exhibition’s four-city U.S. tour. Like everything that National Geographic does, the exhibit is amazing and beautifully done. The exhibition includes 15 terra cotta figures from the tomb of China’s First Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, who ruled from 221 B.C. to 210 B.C.

“The First Emperor’s magnificent terra cotta army is one of the great wonders of the ancient world,” said Terry Garcia, National Geographic’s executive vice president for Mission Programs. “Visitors to the National Geographic Museum will have the rare opportunity to experience one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century as they stand face-to-face with the terra cotta warriors.”

I was sorry that I didn’t realize until later that there are free screenings of the film “The Real Dragon Emperor,” featuring the latest archaeological research and imaging techniques that take viewers inside the massive tomb of Qin Shihuangdi. They are shown in National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium at 12 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays through the run of the exhibition. The hour-long film also will be screened on the following Saturdays: Jan. 30, Feb. 27 and March 27, at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. I think it would have given us, especially my kids, a better understanding of the enormity of the vault and the magnitude of the discovery that we couldn’t get when read about it. I did download the teacher’s guide and the exhibition e-guide which helped tremendously. Teacher’s guides are great resources that most museums provide that I try to use when we are taking our kids.

Tickets to see the exhibit are $12 for adults and $6 for children, weekends are currently sold out through January 23. I think this exhibit is a once in a lifetime opportunity for those who can’t travel to China.

*these pictures are courtesy of Elizabeth from when her family visited the exhibit, I took tons of photos with no memory card in my camera!

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I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show recently with Cathy, my partner in crime at A Day’s Outing.  The show was so amazing that I don’t think the term “Craft” is sufficient. It should be something like the, “Philadelphia Museum of Art Show of Extraordinary Artists that make you Want Everything they Make”.  Cathy and I were so excited about the art we saw that we are going to highlight the work of a handful of artists over the coming months.  Here are two to get us started….

Laura Breitman - The first time I saw Laura’s work, I thought I was looking at a black and white photograph of a tree.   As I walked closer, I realized the “photograph” was really a collage of finely cut pieces of material.  I found myself backing up to see it appear as a photo and then coming closer to see all the fabric pieces. It’s hard to express just how breathtaking Laura’s work is and how much it really fools your eyes into thinking you are seeing a photograph.   You really have to see her work in person to understand just how amazing it is!

Carolyn Morris Bach - It was a treat to see Carolyn’s jewelry for the first time at the craft show.  In her jewelry there are hand carved faces of owls, birds and bears that have been wrapped in gold and adorned with stones.  In Carolyn’s work there is a spiritual aspect that draws you in.  No two pieces of jewelry are the same and the individual personalities of each piece truly shows through.

If you can get the chance to attend, the show is annually the second weekend in November.  The work displayed there by all the artists is awe-inspiring.

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Here’s a guest blog post from a A Day’s Outing Fan, Pam Connolly -

We traveled from Richmond to Roanoke to stay with great friends this Thanksgiving.  Of course Thanksgiving with friends, family and food is special, but another event begins the day after Thanksgiving.  At Center in the Square in downtown Roanoke, the fabulous jolly old elf awaits.  As we headed from the country to the city, snow flakes swirled around, just as Santa was arriving…. that certainly set the tone for our visit.

Visiting Santa at the History Museum of Western Virginia was magical.  At the first showing Santa greets us with handshakes and hugs, gushing over how big everyone is getting and how good it is to see us.  We all gathered around Santa’s story telling room, it was like a cozy living room with a fireplace, with The Christmas Chair.  Santa picks up his guitar and starts to sing.

Oh, yes, Santa is a very talented musician!  We sing some favorites and talk about how remembering  holiday traditions is so important.  Santa reads a story and sings a song about Rudolph and the rest of the reindeer including Holly (Rudolph’s sister and Buck who has been trying to be on Santa’s team for a while).  Another fun part was Santa’s Good and Bad list. Santa lets the children and adults check for their name in the books.  We all had a great time with this. Wrapping up our time, were pictures and hugs with Santa, sending us off with happiness into the Museum and the wonderful downtown market.

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Great Roanoke Restaurant Reviews!

I visited Charleston, S.C. for a meeting awhile back.  Arriving in the morning with 6 hours before my first meeting, I took the opportunity to take a taxi to the historic downtown area to visit the Gibbes Museum Museum of Art on Charleston’s Museum Mile.  Now all this sounds so wonderful, but you have to add in the bone chilling wind and the rain, and the fact I didn’t pack an umbrella.

Accidentally, my taxi cab driver dropped me off in the wrong place and said the museum was just up the block. It wasn’t. So, there I was walking around in the rain. I walked a block and stopped in an old pharmacy and bought a $7 pink umbrella.  For some reason I had to learn the lesson once again..” you get what you pay for.” So there I was walking around with a pink umbrella dripping water down my back. Then I saw a cute French café and decided food would make everything better.  Just across from the historic Old City Market building was Mistral. I was a little hesitant to go in given my drenched condition, but I immediately felt better as I was shown to a cozy corner booth.  After a Caesar salad, French onion soup and a glass of Cotes du Rhone, I was ready to head back outside.

With directions in hand from the owner of the restaurant, I headed off to Gibbes Museum. Shortly after I walked in the door, I fell in love with their miniature paintings, displayed in their own small room. I have never seen such tiny, marvelous paintings that can fit in the palm of your hand. Climbing the stairs in the museum brought even more wonderful surprises. There is no doubt that the Gibbes Museum’s exhibits were worth all the effort I had made to get there.

If you happen to have little children with you, the Hands-On exhibit is fun, but all in all, I don’t think they will enjoy this museum as much as you will. But, the Children’s Museum of the Low Country is nearby; just make sure you have good directions and a great umbrella if it is raining!

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The annual Leonids meteor shower is only a few days away. The meteor shower will peak in the early morning hours of Tuesday, November 17 and again on Wednesday, November 18th. The Moon will be just past new, so we should have a really dark sky for seeing dozens of shooting stars.

And just what are meteor showers? As comets orbit the Sun, they shed an icy, dusty debris stream along the comet’s orbit. If Earth travels through this stream, we will see a meteor shower. Depending on where Earth and the stream meet, meteors appear to fall from a particular place in the sky, maybe within the neighborhood of a constellation. The upcoming Leonids meteor shower is named for the constellation Leo because the shooting stars seem to appear from there.

If you can’t get away from city lights to see the meteor shower, you can always take an outing to an observatory to view the stars.  Or maybe you have a planetarium nearby and can go inside for a show of the night sky. Here are a few observatories and planetariums that I found:

Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum   Chicago, IL

Boyd Observatory   Aiken, SC

Keeble Observatory   Ashland, VA

Planetarium at New Jersey State Museum   Trenton, NJ

Skywalk Observatory & Exhibit   Boston, MA

Leander McCormick Observatory at the University of Virginia   Charlottesville, VA

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The weather is nice enough that most people can still plant bulbs.  Up until the ground freezes, you can get bulbs in your flowerbeds and vegetable garden, including garlic and daffodils.

I was recently at a harvest festival and I purchased two types of garlic. If you haven’t planted garlic before it’s fast and easy. You simply break the bulb apart into separate cloves and plant each clove 3 inches down and 5 inches apart.  Each clove grows into a bulb and it’s well worth the little amount of space that they take up.  I love buying specific types of garlic at festivals and farmers’ markets, but I have also simply planted garlic I bought at the grocery store.  I know I am taking my chances with this method, since grocery store garlic wasn’t grown in Virginia and may not make it through our winters, but I haven’t had any problems in the past.

As for daffodils, I have hundreds growing around the yard.  With so many amazing varieties available, I can’t help but plant a dozen or so new ones each year.  I tuck daffodils behind and between my perennials.  This way when the foliage of the daffodils is dying they are hidden by the new growth of the other plants. Look for new and different types of daffodils at fall farmers’ markets and through specialty growers, like our local grower Brent and Becky’s Bulbs.

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I think I am feeling compelled to write about this today because I thought I had lost my family’s sweet Dachshund rescue Max yesterday. He was hiding under our deck. For me, I think our pets can be so much work, sometimes I don’t always realize how special they are to the whole family. I sure came to that realization fast yesterday! Max hasn’t been part of our family for long, but he already joins in on our weekend outings, believe it or not, he is great on hikes even with those short legs.

I never knew how many breed specific rescue groups there are. If you have a fondness for a particular breed, there is almost certainly a rescue group. Below I will list just a few. We found ourselves dogless again last spring and while it made for an easy summer with no worries about who was going to take care of the dog while we were on vacation and away for the weekend, our house was too quiet. We had always had bulldogs and most of the family loved their comical bullish ways, but my daughter didn’t. They would bulldoze her friends, chew on her dolls and occasionally steal whatever she had and take off. She had always liked dachshunds, particularly the smooth haired and smaller versions. She and I looked online and found Dachshund Rescue of North America and sure enough there was Max.

I will say it took a lot of paperwork and time to bring home Max, but it was worth every minute. We first filled out a long questionnaire, complete with references and scenarios about how we would handle our Dachshund in various situations. They called my vet to determine what kind of pet owners we had been. They came to our home to check out what type of environment he would be living in. They looked at our staircases (which can be tough for some Dachshunds), asked many questions about our Koi pond and fencing and even made sure we keep household cleaners out of reach. We then traveled a few hours away to meet a group of Dachshunds at a park that were looking for homes. There we were able to meet Max’s foster parents, ask questions about him and they could also ask further questions of each of us. A few days later we got the wonderful news that we were chosen to be Max’s family. I think these groups do wonderful due diligence in matching the right dog to the right family.

Another great web resource for finding virtually any pet is Petfinder.  They link to virtually all SPCAs, breed specific rescue groups and even private rescue groups.  You put in what type of animal you are looking for, age, size, gender and your location and it will return all that meet your criteria.

Dachshund Rescue of North America

French Bulldog Rescue Network

Portuguese Water Dog Rescue

Bloodhound Rescue

Saint Bernard Rescue “Save our Saints”

Petfinder.com

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Here’s a guest blog post from a Facebook Fan, Allison Bartlett-

I wanted to share what a SPOOKtacular time I had at the 3rd Annual Ghoultide Gathering Art Show this past Saturday in Northville, MI right outside Detroit.  We met some great people in line while we waited for the doors to open.  I spotted Dani Nelson of Ambitions Design and Founder/Owner of Spooky Time Jingles.  I love the ornaments she creates.  Dani is a true sweetheart and rare gem in my book. She did me a huge favor by picking up something extra special from the 14th Annual Halloween & Vine Show in Petaluma, CA and brought it all the way back to Northville, MI.  I was so glad we finally were able to meet each other in person.  Check out the picture below and see if you can spot the piece I’m talking about.  If you know who the marvelous Johanna Parker is, get ready for your jaw to drop.

I was shocked when I heard you better run when the doors open if you want a piece from Scott Smith of Rucus Studio.  Boy oh boy, it was a sight to see so many people dart to his table.  I have to admit when I got there, I totally froze.  I was just like a kid in a candy shop.  Fortunately, my husband was victorious (as always) and snagged an unbelievable piece.  I was and still am thrilled I was able to score something from Scott.  His work is crème de la crème and it was phenomenal to meet him and see his fascinating unexpected characters in person.

After that whirlwind I quickly ran over to super savvy Artist, Kristen Beason of Kristen Beason Designs.  She had a table packed of impressive treasures, which people gobbled up right away.  I wanted one of everything she had!! I was stoked to score a beautiful hand painted gourd lantern and devious little devil ornament. It was awesome to finally meet her in person too!  Kristen blows my mind on how amazingly creative she is.

While I was chatting with Kristen, the one and only Joyce Stahl of Enchanted Productions was standing right next to me.  She is also an amazing lady.  Joyce is so energetic and creates SPOOKalicious dolls with hand-stitched 3-D wicked eyes.  I could kick myself for not asking her to sign my copy of Art Doll Quarterly.

I was also lucky enough to score two incredible hags from the divine witch maker herself, Sheila Bentley of Primdolly Designs.  They are a reflection of her outstanding imagination, their faces look so shockingly real.  Her stuff also quickly sprouted wings and flew away.  I was without a doubt mesmerized by Sheila’s work!!

I’m thankful for just how good-natured everyone we met was, they were the kind of people you hope there are more of in this world.  The energy was fanatical and it was electrifying to be around so many Halloween enthusiasts of all ages.  It was an honor to be in the company of such awe-inspiring talent and can’t wait for next year!

I’m getting all flighty that Halloween is almost here…

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Find Restaurants in Detroit, MI!

I couldn’t pass up an outing this weekend when one of A Day’s Outing’s fans on Facebook posted that she was showing her art at a nearby fair.  My daughter was up for a drive so we took a day trip to Richmond, VA.

Arts on the Grove was a small, but lovely art fair.  There were artists showing glasswork, beaded jewelry, photography and paintings. They had lots of hands-on activities for children, face painting and a special music area with every imaginable type of stringed instrument for children to try.  They did a great job of making the fair a true family event.

And, the art we had come to see was wonderful.  Pam Connolly’s silk paintings are whimsical, light hearted and simply make you smile. She also had fabulous note cards and handmade t-shirts on hand. I snapped up a Cupcake t-shirt with beads sewn on as non-pariells up for my daughter.

Art fairs, whether they are big or small, offer a chance to see a range of work by truly creative people. Try finding one near you.

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