My Oyster

A Day for the Senses...

 

I spied this large stained glass window overhead in an old shopping passage in the historic center. 

It was just across the street from the Metropolitan Cathedral - the oldest and largest in Latin America...

 

Jean and I did a lot of walking again today.  At one point we were making our way to a taco restaurant somewhere in the Alameda.  We were walking down streets with a lot of character. 

I loved the scene below.  Someone eating in the street by a car that had broken down and to the left a counter full of chicken parts. 

 

We did make it to the taco place.  Here I am creating a beef one.

 

We also made it to a great crafts market.  It was huge.  A maze of booths of all kinds of good.  Here is Jean outside.

I've always loved anthropology...

I started my love affair at the University of Maine.

Today Jean and I spent much of our day here - at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.  We were there for more than 4 hours and we didn't even really see half of it.  It is amazing.  We will need to come back.

The Museum has two stories with several rooms each.  The first floor has rooms for each of the many civilizations through Mexico's history.  The second floor has rooms for some of the many ethnic groups that have and still do make up Mexico. 

I think my favorite civilization room was the Aztecs.  We never made it to the ethnic groups.  Too wiped out.  And here is the crowd pleaser from the Aztec room...

 

It is the Sun Stone - which weighs 24 tons and foretold the end of the Aztec civilization.  There is lots more to know about it.

The Anthropology museum is in the Bosque de Chapultepec - an amazing park with a lot of history of its own.  There is a castle on top of a hill in the park.  It was built by the Habsburg emperor to oversee the the lands he ruled.  Later, after independence, it became a military academy.  US Soldiers stormed it and killed 6 cadets. 

We went to war with Mexico and invaded it?

Jean and I hoofed it up the hill to see amazing views of the city and European opulence.  This is one of the views...

The six white columns represent the six killed cadets.  The long Boulevard is Paseo de la Reforma.  The main drag here.  Half way down you can see a tall column with an golden angel on top.  Our hotel room looks out at that.  Very nice.

Welcome to Mexico!

Am I fitting in yet?

After too many hours of travel, Jean and I arrived in Ciudad de Mexico today. I have never been to Mexico and from what I have seen (and tasted) so far - I am gonna like it.

The food here is amazing. I think this is going to be one of those eat and drink vacations.

We did actually get out and about to do some real touring today too. Mostly in the Zona Rosa - near our hotel.

Here I am at the Monument to Mothers. Very big scale. The sign says "To those who loved us before they knew us. Because your motherhood was voluntary." Nice.

In addition to a trip full of food, I think this trip is gonna be about the churches too. They are everywhere and I can't resist. Just like a good quesadilla.

This church was not far from our hotel. It is the Church of the Sacred Family.

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his.

 

That quote is by Oscar Wilde in The Importance of Being Earnest.

I thought it was a good quote one use as a birthday wish from a son to his mother.

While Oscar is definitely one of my favorite authors (I once read all of his plays on a looong train ride from Austria to the north of Norway), I am not sure it fits in my case.

I think I have become a lot like my mother.  I definitely have become more like her physically - we have the same hair and other features.  When I look at pictures of us together - like the one above in Rome - I think we look like sibilings. 

I hope I have picked up some of her other traits, too.  Her quiet spirituality, her deep love of  family & tradition, her courage, her humor and ability to laugh out of control, her curiosity and sense of adventure.

Happy Birthday Ma!

My Home is a Little More Solitary Today...

 

My parents - below- have been staying here for a couple weeks but left this morning.  All things considered and relative to many others I know, I think we do very well living together.  We are a bit of an odd threesome.  I think we could be a reality TV series on Logo.  But it works.

 

My mother is very low maintenance and a joy to have around.  She appreciates everything and likes the adventures of the city.  My father, well he is a bit more maintenance and is clearly no metrosexual yuppie.  But he is still fun to have around.  And I must say, it's been nice having a man around the house to put things together and take out the trash. 

He picked out the stools below and put them together for me.  I resisted at first, happy with my wobbly mismatched woodish ones from Ikea, but now I really like them and yes Dad - they are much more comfy and functional.

They will be back in a week or so as my mother continues treatments at NIH and I am looking forward to having roomates again. 

Happy President's Day!

Presidents Race, Washington Nationals, originally uploaded by Scott Ableman.

To me, this is a job worth making a play for. Not President - but one of the Racing Presidents.

I was kinda surprised to read in the WaPo that over the weekend only 47 people tried out to be either Teddy, Abe, George, or Tom. I would have thought that in this economy there would be lots of people wanting to race around the field between innings.

The only real requirement is to be able to run from right field to home plate in a big-headed, 45 pound costume.

Home opener for the Nats is April 13.

Be My Valentine?

Heart, originally uploaded by mozzercork.

I loved this pic on Flickr.

And another fun surprise is the music video below. Affirming of everyone's love AND by a local Columbia Heights neighbor.

Enjoy!

Even a Tiny Touch of Spring...

IMG_3591, originally uploaded by dcjay64.

...is appreciated when you are from the Great White North. Maine.

My father and I took a little walk today and he enjoyed all the hints that winter may be over here in DC.

In Malcolm X Park we came across these little flowers that had bloomed. In Maine there is still a lot of snow still, so Tut was happy to see them.

It's great that spring is coming soon here in Washington.

Antibodies - our molecular watchdogs...

Antibodies, originally uploaded by nmathur6.

Today my mother started an experimental trial at NIH that uses antibodies to search out and cling to her mesothelioma tumors and bring treatment to them.

It was a long day for her today - more than 12 hours of treatment. Most of that time she was having blood taken from her and infusions of two types of chemotherapy and the antibody being put into her.

She was amazing the whole time. Never losing her strength and independence and sense of humor.

National Institutes of Health

NIH, originally uploaded by lizzy004.

Every time I visit the NIH campus (which is a lot over the past several months), I feel very fortunate to have this place so close to home.

The doctors and nurses and staff are amazing. People visit the place under anxious and terrifying and confusing circumstances, so it is a wonderful relief to feel both confident in and comforted by the people at NIH.

Today we spent the day at the Clinical Hospital (in the pic above) getting tests and signing the consent form that will enroll my mother in one of their experimental trials for mesothelioma.

She starts tomorrow - so we will be spending some more time at NIH over the coming months.