Home, Sweet Home, or The End of the Travelogue

My committee work finished early, so I decided to go to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. This building is actually a former Confederate War Chapel, that is on the grounds of the museum.

 

A third floor view of it from inside the museum. It looks so pastoral, doesn't it?

Water lilies in a reflecting pool at the museum cafe entrance.

 

I can't remember who the sculpture artist of this piece is, but I really like it.

They have a pretty good collection of Tiffany lamps.

I didn't realize that one of Degas' dancers was here; the only other one of his I have seen is located in New York's Metropolitan.

I love the detail of her skirt and hair ribbon.

A Picasso.

Renoir.

Another Renoir.

One of Tiffany's windows.

Two pieces of yarn art! This was a surprise. The artist's name is Lucas Samaras, and these two are part of a series he did using everyday materials.

 

This is a whimsical piece I adore, by the artist Barry Flanagan, titled Large Leaping Hare.

This is the other end of the reflecting pool, outside of the museum. This would be a pretty place to hang out with some knitting, unless it's 100 degrees F with 90% humidity, which is what it was today, so I headed home.

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my work vacation. Back to yard work, house work, and my summer projects. It was nice while it lasted.

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More of the Same

I hope you all aren't tired of my pictures of food and old houses, cause that's all I've got.

I forgot to show this photo of some other people's dinner orders the other night at Kuba, Kuba; one of the benefits of sitting at the counter.

 

I've been eating so much lately, I decided to eat light last night, so I went back to Urban Farmhouse,

and had a BLT with heirloom tomatoes and lemon mayonnaise in a relaxed atmosphere. Before that, I had spent an enjoyable hour knitting at The Yarn Lounge in Carytown. Seriously, one of the most welcoming knitting stores I've ever visited.

After dinner, I walked around another great neighborhood taking photos.

This planter reminded me of Rudee's porch statue, Stoney.

And of course, I love these color schemes!

 

A porch ceiling painted blue is just beautiful; if I ever have a porch with a ceiling, this is the treatment I am going to give it.

Tonight was my last dinner out, and a group of us went to this great soul food restaurant called The Croaker Spot, and it was crazy good. This is the fish and shrimp combo, which came with cabbage, cheese grits, grilled onions, and a block of cornbread that was sweet enough to be dessert.

 

 

Going home tomorrow may be kind if tough.

 

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More of the Same

I hope you all aren't tired of my pictures of food and old houses, cause that's all I've got.

I forgot to show this photo of some other people's dinner orders the other night at Kuba, Kuba; one of the benefits of sitting at the counter.

 

I've been eating so much lately, I decided to eat light last night, so I went back to Urban Farmhouse,

and had a BLT with heirloom tomatoes and lemon mayonnaise in a relaxed place. Before that, I had spent a relaxing hour knitting at The Yarn Lounge in Carytown. Seriously, one of the most welcoming knitting stores I've ever visited.

After dinner, I walked around another great neighborhood taking photos.

This planter reminded me of Rudee's porch statue, Stoney.

And of course, I love these color schemes!

 

A porch ceiling painted blue is just beautiful; if I ever have a porch with a ceiling, this is the treatment I am going to give it.

Tonight was my last dinner out, and a group of us went to this great soul food restaurant called The Croaker Spot, and it was crazy good. This is the fish and shrimp combo, which came with cabbage, cheese grits, grilled onions, and a block of cornbread that was sweet enough to be dessert.

 

 

Going home tomorrow may be kind if tough.

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Old Homes

Eating on an expense account is pretty nice. I get to try out some of the places I've heard about, and I get to order the house special. Kuba, Kuba is such a place. They have authentic Cuban food, a cool, college ambience, and the surrounding neighborhood was awesome as well.

I chose the pan seared salmon, which came with fresh asparagus, black bean and corn salsa, and coconut risotto cakes that were out of this world. Oh, and an iced cafe con leche that was dessert in a glass.

 

I knit on this, while waiting for my dinner to cook:

 

 

After dinner, I needed to walk off some of that too full feeling, so I started walking. This is a statute of General Robert E. Lee, one of many statues along Monument Boulevard.

But this side street, just around the corner was where I chose to walk. I took lots of pictures of the gorgeous row houses, many of them which are protected, historical homes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is always interesting to see how people can make a small, shady space so lovely, isn't it?

 

So ends today's tour of Richmond. Hope you enjoyed it! I'll be back again tomorrow.

 

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Wanderings

I have the VDOE assignment this week from Monday through Thursday, in Richmond, which is a fabulous place to wander. Despite having lived in Virginia my entire life, and having visited Richmond multiple times, there is always something new to do.

I headed up here early to beat the ridiculous traffic that is ever present on I-64 in the summer, so I headed to an area of Richmond known as Shockoe Bottom. It used to be an industrial area, but is now gentrified, so there are lots of trendy coffee shops and restaurants, as well as upscale lofts. I visited one of the coffee shops/restaurants today, a place called Urban Farmhouse. Stephanie recommended it to me and I really liked it.

I also took a Canal Cruise that I stumbled upon as I was walking around. I took lots of photos during the ride.


 

This photo was actually taken from a bridge, before my boat ride. The kayakers are on the James River, which runs right through the middle of downtown Richmond.

 

This is a view of some of the financial district buildings, taken aboard the canal boat. One of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks of the United States is located here in Richmond.

This is a flood gate, which has been used quite a lot over the years.

This area is known as Three Crossings, because it boasts three railroad tracks stacked above each other, which is a unique thing, apparently.

And of course I had to visit The Yarn Lounge, so I could sit and knit in the air conditioned comfort of their shop. There is always a group of at least three or four people knitting there, and today was no exception.

As I was walking around this area of Richmond, known as Carytown, I found this lovely shop,

and chose a Raspberry Champagne cupcake to bring back to the hotel, for my after dinner snack. It was delicious!

Now I'm in my pajamas, getting ready to watch Inspector Lewis and knit a little on my newest project, a Saroyan shawl, using MadelineTosh Vintage in the Bark color way. In its own way, it's delicious too!

 

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