Greetings from our Nation's Capitol!

I have a wonderful life.

In my professional work, I develop and implement Teacher Education workshops based on using primary sources in the classroom. I have been doing it for about 7 years after stumbling into a administrative support job that I considered not much more than an office temp gig. Turns out I love what I do, returned to grad school and began teaching undergraduate courses as well as the professional development workshops. The project had been funded by a Congressional earmark but is now funded directly by the Library of Congress.

One of the perks of this job is that I get to go to DC for meetings at the Library. This week, because there were a number of new project staff involved,they scheduled tours of a few different divisions, including maps and manuscripts. Extremely cool.

Because I have been to DC many different times,I have foregone most of the touristy things, although I did drop in on the new show at the National Gallery of Art, In the Forest of Fountainbleu. Lovely paintings. I love taking the Metro to get around! I feel like such a grownup, city slicker.

I have tried to make at least a part of this trip as a 'mini spa' vacation. We are staying up in Bethesda, Maryland. Although the Library staff was concerned that we were out in the burbs, the area is lovely and there are lots of restaurants. There are pretty neighborhoods behind the hotel, lovely landscaping - huge azaleas in full bloom. I have been taking long walks outdoors (about an hour each morning), crunching the abs in the hotel room and using the hotel exercise room for upper body work. I am eating light and healthy - at least most of the time. I really need to get in better shape and now is my opportunity to get started. Is fact, I hear the work out room calling me now!

Not much fiber today! A bit of sock knitting and the Etsy shop is doing fine without me! Selling a bit, but I'm not listing anything, so it's kind of in suspended animation.

On a sad note, Bunny FooFoo is no longer on the planet. He had (probably) a stroke over the weekend, all of a sudden couldn't walk or eat, so I had him put to sleep. He's in the garden now!