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I wanted to highlight three more amazing artists from the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. I have a brochure from the show on my desk and I love picking it up again and again remembering what amazing talent there was at the show. Again, the variety of art in the show makes it a great trip to take with friends and the restaurants in Philadelphia are some of the best in the country.

Genevieve Yang – Genevieve is a third generation goldsmith and she creates individually handcrafted jewelry from various karats and colors of gold and silver. She then carefully selects each stone that goes into her pieces. She incorporates colorless diamonds, fancy diamonds and precious stones. She was also a delight to talk to during the show, her own enthusiasm and confidence in her work really shines through.

Martha Fieber – Martha is a former engineer and you can see her background in the intense attention to detail and planning in her work. She creates amazing landscape pieces that from a distance look as though they could be an oil painting. Only as you begin to walk up closer to them do you realize that her pieces are comprised of thousands of intricate stitches that allow for incredible depth and perspective. She works with only four types of stitches using single strand silk, rayon, metallic and/or hand dyed cotton threads on linen and silk backgrounds.

Jerry & Deborah Kermode – Jerry and Deborah have a love affair with trees and its shows in their wood turned creations. I made a small purchase from them and bought a beautiful pepper grinder that proudly sits on my kitchen island. Jerry hand carves each piece on a lathe, using the grain of the wood and its character traits as his guides. The vessel is rough turned to 1/2″ thick, allowed to dry for many months and then finish turned to a thickness appropriate to the design. Finally it is sanded to a 1200 grit finish and Danish oiled. Deborah administers the final finish: the piece is steel wooled and waxed. Jerry also offers classes at his studio in beautiful Sebastopol, CA and will share his gift with you.

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Grab a pencil and a pad of paper and get involved in the Great Backyard Bird Count from February 12 –15, 2010. The Great Backyard Bird Count is organized by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  It is a way to take a snapshot of the kinds of birds spotted during February and to compare this information to bird populations from past years.

Whether you are an avid bird watcher or not, it is easy to participate in this free event and help track birds across America.  All you have to do is record the birds you see for 15 minutes on any of the four days on a tally sheet and then log the birds you saw online. You can also submit photos you take in your backyard. It’s up to you. At The Great American Bird Count you’ll find instructions on what to do and helpful tips on identifying birds.  So, mark it on your calendar and have fun!

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My family made some last minute presents for the holidays.  I had seen photographs of gourmet caramel apples and thought we could try and make them.  The apples I had seen in catalogs were $26 a piece and were coated in caramel, chocolate, nuts, and various other toppings. We gave it a try, learned a few things along the way and made some yummy treats.

First, we used a caramel recipe from Epicurious.com that was amazing. While the recipe said it covered 12 apples, we really had enough caramel for 18 apples.  Since we had only prepared for 12 apples, we also dipped marshmallows into the caramel that we stuck with a toothpick.  The kids loved these, but they were so unbelievably sweet that I think only children would find these marshmallows appealing.  After the marshmallows, we poured the remaining caramel into a butter dish and then sprinkled the top with a bit of sea salt.  Once the caramel set, we turned the caramel out onto a plate and cut it into bite-sized pieces.  Yummy!

Once we had our apples covered in caramel and they had chilled, our second step was to dip them into milk chocolate that we had melted in a double boiler. This wasn’t part of the recipe, but something extra we did.  From the chocolate bath, we rolled the tops of the apples in chopped up peanuts (for adults) or multi-colored candy jimmies (for kids).

As for the caramel apples, we followed the recipe exactly.  Hope you enjoy!

Caramel Apples - Originally from Epicurious.com

1 1-pound box dark brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon robust-flavored (dark) molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 sturdy lollipop sticks or chopsticks
12 medium apples
Assorted decorations (such as chopped nuts, chopped raisins, mini M&Ms and candy sprinkles)

Equipment needed - one accurate candy thermometer.

1-Combine sugar, butter, condensed milk, corn syrup, maple syrup, vanilla, molasses and salt in a thick-bottomed 2 1/2 or 3 quart saucepan. Stir with a wooden spoon on medium-low heat until all the sugar dissolves. There should be no grittiness (sugar crystals) when you test by rubbing a little of the caramel between your fingers. Brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve any sugar crystals that might form on the pan sides.
2-Attach a clip-on candy thermometer to the pan and cook caramel at a rolling boil until the thermometer reaches 236°F, stirring constantly and slowly with a wooden spatula. Continue to occasionally brush the sides down with a pastry brush. Carefully pour caramel into a metal bowl. Cool until the temperature lowers to 200°F, at which point you are ready to dip the apples.
3-While the caramel is cooking/cooling, prepare a large baking sheet, covering it either with buttered aluminum foil or silpat. Insert a chopstick or sturdy lollipop stick into each apple, about 2 inches, top down, into the apple core.
4-When the caramel has cooled enough for dipping, dip the apples in, one by one, by holding on to the stick, and vertically lowering the apple into the caramel, submerging all but the very top of the apple. Pull the apple up from the caramel and let the excess caramel drip off from the bottom back into the pan. Then place on the silpat or prepared foil. The caramel will pool a little at the bottom of each apple. Place into the refrigerator to chill for at least 15 minutes.
5-Once the caramel has chilled a bit, remove from the refrigerator and use your fingers to press the caramel that has dripped to the bottom of the apples, back on to the apples. Then take whatever coatings you want and press them into the apples for decoration. Return to the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour.

I went to visit the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA.  No, it is not where torpedos are being made, but they used to be.  Now it is an art center that showcases the work of regional, national and international artists on three floors in a great old building down on the waterfront.

The Torpedo Factory Art Center really offers something for everyone’s taste and price range.  There are galleries showcasing huge oil painting of landscapes and a fiber gallery with felted hats and woven scarves.  We left with two beautiful clay ornaments for next year’s Christmas tree.  There are dozens of galleries in the art center, so there is a lot to do. And, if you really do want to see a torpedo and learn a bit about their history, look for a display of a torpedo on the first floor.

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If you have a chance to visit Roanoke, Virginia on a trek through the Blue Ridge Mountains, make sure you add the Taubman Museum of Art to your itinerary. The museum is in the historic market area and near the wonderful Center in the Square.

I was in Roanoke with my family recently and we headed to the Taubman Museum of Art to find out what their current exhibits might be. With the kids happily in tow, we entered our fist exhibit and saw floor to ceiling woodcut prints by Mike Houston and Martin Mazorra.  In addition to the dozens of black and white prints, there is also an installation on the gallery floor of 17 camping tents displayed as a “tent city” that have images printed on them of homeless men, women and children. In the adjacent gallery, the famous beggars in Rembrandt van Rijn’s etching from the mid-1600’s were on display. This exhibit might be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this private collection of Rembrandt’s work that is on tour.  The juxtaposition of the modern images of Houston and Mazorra’s “beggars” and Rembrandt’s images was incredible.

As we moved through the museum, I realized that the kids were most impressed with the contemporary art. They walked with us through the galleries showing American and European art, but they were truly engaged when the art was by modern artists. Russell Richards, and his creative “Inaccurate Maps” and Devorah Sperber, with her amazing sculpture of spools of thread that are transformed into Andy Warhol’s can of Tomato soup when viewed through a glass sphere, captivated our eight and ten year old kids. It was great to learn that our children really do enjoy visiting museums, especially when the art is contemporary.

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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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Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to see the Lipizzaner Stallions.  I found out they were coming to town from A Day’s Outing’s weekly outings guide, Go Floyd. Even with all the outings that I review each week, I hadn’t seen this one and I was thrilled that my own Go Floyd guide let me know they were coming.

We went on a Friday night with our children and their grandparents. The horses were amazing and the music was beautiful.  I especially liked that the announcer told us about the history of the horses, their Spanish ancestry and the story of the royal stud farm were they were first bred, Lipizza, dating back to 1562.  The audience was also told about the finer points of dressage and the training the stallions undergo to enhance their natural movements. My son said that it looked like the horses were doing ballet.  While my daughter thought it was more like tap dancing.

Before the performance, I knew very little about the Lipizzaner Stallions accept that they were beautiful.  After everything I learned during the show, I now appreciate them so much more.

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Elizabeth and I would like to thank everyone for making 2009 a wonderful year for A Day’s Outing.  Since going live in March, we have been so thrilled to see all of the wonderful destinations our users, their friends and family have found.  Thank you so much for telling us about the great outings you have taken, giving us honest feedback and helping our company grow and get off to a fabulous start.

A few great events in 2010 to look forward to are-

East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival 4/16-18 Charleston, SC

Ohio State Fair 7/28-8/8 Columbus, OH

South Carolina State Fair 10/13-10/24 Columbia, SC

Travel and Transportation in Early Maryland 1/28-3/31  Johns Hopkins University Museum, Baltimore, MD

Afternoon Tea at the Maymont Mansion 3/14-6/21 Richmond, VA

Fourth of July at Mount Vernon 7/4  Mount Vernon, VA

We wish you and your family a year filled with happiness in 2010!

*Update- Here is a podcast with Elizabeth discussing Christmas visits to downtown areas small towns broadcast on XM radio Hidden America!

It’s the time of year when I am thrilled to get out and go shopping. It sounds crazy, but I enjoy the cold air and all the decorations. There are presents to buy, goodies to make and holiday meals to prepare for. With big shopping malls everywhere, it can be easy to overlook the local shops that line the Main Streets in small towns, but those shops can offer so much.

Here is Charlottesville, VA we have a vibrant downtown area. There are art galleries which feature regional artists, small bookstores that carry the newest writers, as well as hidden literary treasures, family owned pizzerias that make the best slices and an ice skating rink that’s open year round.

There are also many small towns around us with their own quaint and welcoming Main Streets. Culpeper, VA has shop after shop after shop. I love to have lunch at It’s About Thyme and then head down the block to one of several antique shops to hunt for a treasure or two. Staunton, VA, in the Shenandoah Valley, is a town with a rich architectural history and a downtown area with a great local diner and fun gift shops.

When you’re thinking about your holiday shopping keep in mind the wonderful local shops that are all around you.  You can take a quick drive to a nearby town or make a day trip out of it and really get to know a new Main Street near you.

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