We just saw National treasure today and I enjoyed the movie, it's not a great movie but it is a fun combination of action, adventure and mystery ala Indiana Jones and Goonies. Nicolas Cage plays a treasure hunter trying to solve clues left by the Freemasons 200 years ago that lead to a treasure. The movie visits Washington D.C., Philly, New York and Boston. All cities I know well having either lived near, in or visited them often. We live near Philly now and I watched the scenes filmed there and in D.C. pretty closely. The newspaper had an article with a map to the Philly locations and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation and The Washington D.C Convention and Visitor's Bureau have teamed up to sponsor a self-guided tour to the historic sites visited in the movie you can get a brochure online at movietour.org or in Philly visit the Independence Visitor's Center. This seems like it would be a fun way to learn some history.

I just found out on the travel channel about this bed and breakfast near Yosemite National Park; Chateau Du Sureau and surfed out to their web site after I finished work today. I enjoy visiting the national parks and I also enjoy staying at bed and breakfast accommodations. This sounded like an ideal combination twenty minutes from Yosemite, but it's a little too pricey for me, the least expensive room is the CIBOULETTE room at $350.00. Still a very special occasion.....Then I was looking at Williamsburg another good place to visit and checked out the Williamsburg Inn I learned on the travel channel that you could get the full colonial treatment at Providence Hall but the only reference I could find to anything like that was the colonial houses which sound interesting. Again though probably pricey but for a special occasion. ....

When I saw this story "In Praise Of Dirt" on Yahoo about the relationship between too much cleanliness and eczema. I had to agree with the findings published in the British Medical Journal that there is some relationship between being too clean and the increased incidence of childhood eczema, asthma and allergies.
I most wholeheartedly support good handwashing but I reject the idea of using antibacterial soap for a similar reason to the results they have found. Nurses that have researched handwashing with ordinary soap and antibacterial soap find that too many good bacteria may be being killed with the antibacterial soap and the door may be opened for the growth of super germs as a result. Only those persons who really need to i.e. those who work in the Operating room or a similar environment, should probably use the antibacterial products. Therapy Resources Inc. publishes a page every year around flu season, that is widely copied and heavily visited, which teaches about good handwashing with ordinary soap. Good handwashing is the number one way to prevent the spread of illness. It's ok to get a little dirty, use common sense and wash your hands well.
Another related issue, that is a pet peeve of mine, is the overuse of antibiotics. Healthcare professionals have known for a long time that antibiotics have been overprescribed, many have lost their effectiveness and germs have become resistant. However it's been taking too long for the public to come around and stop demanding antibiotics for their viral illnesses. Just the other day my mom told me that the doctor prescribed an antibiotic for my dad's cold. Even though the doctor said that it wouldn't make any difference my dad wanted something. My mom acknowledged that it probably wouldn't help but what are you going to do? Well mom and anyone else who feels that way, there are super bugs out there now that cannot be stopped lets not create any more.

Since I like to try different tea shops or high teas I was very interested in the high tea that was being offered at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. I didn't find out about it until I was already there and my thought was that I probably wouldn't be able to get a reservation but I called anyway and left a message. Actually three messages, the first one that I was interested in tea on Wednesday, the second that I was available both Tuesday and Wednesday and the third to make sure I'd left the correct contact information. Originally I was hoping to go to one of the DC Filmfest's events, a luncheon and discussion with a director. I had already left a message with them requesting a reservation. Then I decided that I might have a better chance at getting a tea reservation at the cathedral if I were available on both days. They have it Tuesday and Wednesday. Well by Monday morning before I left the apartment I hadn't heard from either place. Then Monday night when I got back there was a message from the Cathedral person saying there was a last minute cancellation for Tuesday and to call, which I did. When my husband got back he said there was a message that they had no openings. So they had called me twice. I never did hear from the filmfest.

Tuesday I took the orange line, got off at the stop near the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and switched to the red line after I visited that museum, then switched to a bus and made it to the area of the cathedral before the 1:30P tour time. I had enough time to stop in the St. Alban's Opportunity Shop, make a couple of purchases and ask directions. Then I went inside the cathedral to the tour and tea and joined a group of about 25 other people. The tour was led by a docent and covered all of the major highlights of the main sanctuary after which we took the elevator to the top of the tower and had a delicious high tea with a lovely view. There are also pictures and some informational displays in the tower so I wandered around there with the woman, from San Francisco, who sat with me for tea.
The cathedral is a huge gothic structure constructed as "...a national house of prayer for all people", U.S. Congress 1893 and "This church is intended for national purposes...and assigned to the special use of no particular sect or denomination but equally open to all." Pierre L'Enfant 1791 Plan for the City of Washington. Those quotes I found in the book "Murder At The National Cathedral" by Margaret Truman which I am reading again, I think, now that I've been there.
When I returned to the main sanctuary and went to the store I found out that the cathedral was open late that evening for an evensong service. I called my hubby and both of us went to the service where we got to hear the all male choir, the 10,600 + pipe, organ and sit in the hand carved choir pews. They also had a mazes that could be walked and we tried that. Then I took him around the cathedral and shared the highlights that I remembered. Especially the stained glass; the rose window and the space window with the moon rock, the chapels, the main area of worship and the grave of Woodrow Wilson (the only president buried in Washington). All in all a nice way to spend an afternoon.

The new memorial in Washington D.C., is in honor of those who served in World War Two. We went to see the National World War Two Memorial just a few days before it opened. There were fences around part of it but you could walk around it and through one part. Lots of people were already visiting and it opened fully near the end of last week, although it won't be officially dedicated until Memorial Day weekend. I took a lot of pictures for my dad and mom. My dad is an AXPOW and has a VIP invitation to the dedication. Our concern is, given his poor and mom's questionable health, would they be ok in a probably huge crowd, hot weather, with a lack of facilities and easy access to the site? Never mind the stress of the memories, accompanying emotion and physical activity especially for my dad. Well my mom and I talked about the negatives at length first, then I switched to talking about the importance of the whole thing to my dad and how important attending the ceremonies might be to him. Maybe the hotel has plans to bus people to the site for the ceremonies and those planning the ceremonies have taken into consideration the frail condition of some of the vets. Maybe the VIP invitation has some special perks attached. A big plus is that some of their AXPOW friends are going and staying in the same hotel. She is on the fence about going but plans to contact the hotel, check through the literature and maybe call a few friends. The final thing will be how my dad feels closer to the date and whether he's up for it.

The highlight of yesterday was definitely The Renwick Gallery. At about lunchtime there was almost no one in the gallery and I saw a sign for a tour. What happened was that on of the docents was in the gallery and ready to give a tour. Since I was the only one there at that moment, I was the only one on the tour until we reached the third floor. The main exhibit on the first floor is Right at Home American Studio Furniture. It's a terrific exhibit IMHO and some of the highlights are the furniture by Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle. Wendell Castle's Ghost Clock is a special favorite of mine and many other visitors to the Renwick. Another favorite is Kim Schmahmann's Bureau of Bureaucracy the craftmanship and humor in this piece is ten steps above. Others joined the tour when we reached the third floor and in the grand salon we saw the Treasures from the SAAM which is closed for renovation. One of the pictures which focuses on a visit to George Washington's grave has a hidden picture in it of the first president. Another visitor was taking a picture with a good camera and since I only had a disposable camera he said he would e-mail it to me. Then I shared with him and his daughter the highlights that the docent shared with me of the other areas they hadn't seen.
Lafayette Square was just delightful, warm and breezy, and a nice respite with a good view of the front of the Whitehouse (most people take pictures of the back) and then a visit to St John's Church to see where the president worships. A chai shake, was tasty, and the shortbread cookies were ok, at Teaism but what I had really wanted was cream tea. They didn't seem to know what that was and I wasn't up for going to one of the high teas at the hotels nearby. Today in their web site I found out I should have asked for afternoon tea but I didn't see that posted anywhere in the restaurant. They have Asian and Traditonal supposedly.

An internet prankster is pushing for a certain word, waffles, to be associated with John Kerry's web site. If enough people link this word to the site then it will rise in the ranks of the search engines. When people search on the term waffles Kerry's site will show up on the first results page maybe even in the top ten or number one. This is what happened last year with the whitehouse biography of president Bush when miserable failure was associated with it and then, in his defense, it was associated with great president by his supporters. A recent article in USA Today discusses this "political chicanery" about which Google's technology director, Craig Silverstein, states that the company's outlook is that there is no need to take any action since search results from such pranks are appropriate ones. Another point is that not many people actually search those terms. Interesting how some people choose to spend their time.

The Therapy Resources website was updated by March 29! There were a lot of new pages to get together and post but it all came together. The newsletter went out yesterday. There were very few bounces so far which is really good. One of the pages Cook Create Cultivate is about National Poetry Month and one of the suggested activities is Dream Flags an idea that is the brain child of three middle school teachers here in PA. There is a link to their web site and a link to this article in the Philadelphia inquirer about the project. The poems quoted in the article are impressive and they're from such young children.

We've had many discussions about tying shoelaces over the years. A number of them have occurred recently. I don't know what brings up subject but what happens is that one of the kids points out that the other ties their shoes differently and why is that. I always say that I showed them both ways, let them practice a little with each and then they chose which one to use. Simple as that. I just recently found out about Ian's Shoelace Site through Yahoo picks and I sent a link to the kids. It seems that there are a more ways to tie your shoes than the two that I know. Ian's knot is supposed to be the world's fastest. I tried it and finally got it after I viewed the animation. It is fast and I might switch to it. I wonder if the kids will switch.

We went to a wedding this weekend in Philly and on Friday night there was a cocktail reception and a preview of the new exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art: Manet and the Sea. . I enjoyed it very much; both the cocktails and the exhibit. Especially the Godiva Chocolate with the cocktails and the painting Manet did in Venice. I think it's the most colorful of the Manet paintings in the exhibit and although not really of the sea it's the one with the most life. The other painting we liked was the one of the civil war naval battle between the Union ship Kearsarge and the Confederate ship Alabama. This battle took place off the coast of France. I didn't realize the Civil war was waged elsewhere near other countries. The Philadelphia Inquirer reviewed the exhibit very favorably and if the crowd on Friday was any indication it's going to be very popular while it's here. Manet isn't the only painter there's also Monet, Renoir, Whistler among others in the exhibit.

We visit Florida on a regularly irregular schedule. On the Gulf Coast near where we visit is Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park, home of the manatee. The park is very scenic. You can ride a boat over to the main entrance and get a chance to hear about and see some of Florida's flora and fauna in it's natural setting. In the park itself there are many more native species of birds, animals, fish, a very non native hippo left over from a previous incarnation of the park and of course the manatees. They give regular talks about them and people crowd around the"the salad bowl" to watch as they feed on the greens tossed into the water. Manatees move slowly and rise to the surface every three to four minutes to breathe. Thus they are vulnerable to injury by boats. Many are killed every year. They have been long on the endangered list and thought to have a very low population, the state has recently passed tougher boat speed laws and restrictions on development and access to the waterways where they live. Now a recent study has shown that the population is larger than previously thought and the developers and boaters are trying to get the manatees off the endangered list so the restrictions can be lifted. Smithsonian Magazine published an article this month on the furor over these gentle giants. All the time that we've (people) been around we still haven't been able to figure out how to live with our neighbors so we all can live. We're still unable to see the importance of every living thing to the whole scheme of things.

Ok no Super Bowl for us again, but we still have the Wing Bowl. This year it's Wing Bowl XII and the reigning champ El Wingador (Bill Simmons) has some very interesting competition. Sonya Thomas aka Black Widow is entering the competition for the first time. She is 5ft 5in, 99 Lbs, her competitor El Wingador is 318lbs. They will not be the only ones in the Wing Bowl but Sonya will most likely be the smallest. The Philadelphia Inquirer did a story about her which also gives information about other speed eating competitions. There are competitions throughout the year for eating such yummy treats as Jalapeno peppers and pickled Quail eggs. There is even a group for this "sport"; The International Federation of Competitive Eating. Everyone has their gift as they say.

One of the recent pages on the Therapy Resources Inc. site is called: It's Time to Come Clean and it's located on the Healthy Hints page. The page is about handwashing, how to wash your hands, when to wash them and group activities to promote good handwashing. It was posted to coincide with National Handwashing week in December and has been posted about the same time the last couple of years. It is a very popular page based on the number of visitors and will be up just a little longer for that reason. Coincidentally we're not the only ones that thought that promoting good handwashing was important. The Philadelphia Inquirer had an article this past Sunday about norovirus; When shipping out be sure to wash up. This is the virus that has plagued some cruise ship passengers with gastrointestinal illness. The best way to prevent the spread of the virus is, (drum roll please) good handwashing.

Since I'm a big fan of the movies having a theater so close has really had an impact on my movie watching. I have attended more movies in the last year than I have in the two previous years combined. It seems so much easier to find the time and with the type of movies that have been showing much easier to find something to watch. Plus I haven't been shying away from drama as much lately as I have in the past.
Most recently I've seen In America and Love Actually a drama and a romantic comedy respectively. I recommend In America, here are the Rotten Tomato reviews for In America and here they are for Love Actually.

So a trip to Florida to visit Dizzy World is in your future? Avoid the holidaze if at all possible, the crowds are too much. Do try to get on Mission Space a flight simulator ride in Epcot Center which spins you in a centrifuge while you and your team try to complete your assignments. Also get to PhilarMagic where Donald takes center stage when he puts on Mickey's sorcerer's hat and tries to conduct the orchestra. We enjoyed our dinners in the Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge and in the Sci Fi Diner Theater. All the meals were expensive but the food and service was generally good, I especially liked the African buffet in Animal Kingdom Lodge.