See those tiny buds in the background? Spring is definitely trying to make itself known. Lucky me...I have a built in sensor (aka allergies). :-)

What a feminist looks like

I am a feminist despite the stigma.

I am a feminist because I grew up with strong women in my life who told me I could do and be whomever I wanted.

I am a feminist because I believe women can own whatever profession they choose, be that stripper or housewife or Secretary of State.

I am a feminist because I'm tired of the bodies of women being used against them as tools of torture, control, or denigration.

I am a feminist because people more quickly hear and respect what comes out of a man's mouth.

I am a feminist because, statistically, women are still paid less for comparable work done by their male counterparts.

I am a feminist who can cook you dinner, knit you a scarf, and take a complex scientific issue and boil it down so you can understand.

I am a feminist who appreciates the chivalry of a door held open or the offer to put my bag in the overhead compartment of a plane. Just don't do it because you think I'm incapable.


March 8th was International Women's Day, and there was big push online for women to proclaim themselves feminists. Given that it's Women's History Month (really? what do these specially designated months mean?), I say better late than never. Because, really, standing up for the rights of your gender, race or ethnicity should be acceptable any day of the year.

The formatting idea for the photo came entirely from the talented Kara at i just might explode.

Birthdays...it's how we roll

It's been a while since I've written about the joys of a birthday celebrated. If there's one thing about my group of friends, it's that we refuse to let a birthday go by without proper recognition. Ravena's birthday was March 5, and she wanted to spend it cooking for all of us. Three meals and an open house. Personally, I can't imagine how cooking throughout the day would bring anyone happiness, particularly on a birthday, but Ravena has always walked to the beat of her own drum. That drum happens to love cooking.

I documented a bit of the fare that was offered throughout the day*.


Ravena's friend Sharon made these vegan bad boys. I marveled at the creation of a bread product without eggs or milk.


Lunch was a croque monsieur, which I'm told is just a fancy ham and cheese sandwich.


Evolution of the birthday cake.


Chicken and dumplings for dinner. Yum!

I've left out photos of the people who attended, but if Adam is a barometer, everything was good and classy.




*I'm not stupid. I came early and camped out the entire day.

Blinky Palermo at the Hirshhorn

I think my obsession with Gilmore Girls is fairly well documented. So, when I heard the Hirshhorn (love) was doing a retrospective of Blinky Palermo’s work, I knew I needed to go. Okay, my reaction wasn’t quite that sedate. I got a little giddy. Blinky, a contemporary German painter in the ‘60s and ‘70s, is one of the numerous pop culture references that pepper Gilmore Girls dialogue, and it seems I’m on a bit of an odyssey to explore many of those references (Grey Gardens, Funny Face, etc.).

It was made better by the fact that I actually liked his work. I really wish photos had been allowed. I managed to sneak in a couple, but I couldn’t get my favorites (series of orange, red and other color blocks with excellent flow). In fact, I totally set off a very Thomas Crown-like alarm when I got too close to one of the pieces. Hey, I wanted to see it from the side!