Monday 25 January 2010

Supplies




Thanks for the supplies.  TEA - I couldn't do without a proper cup of tea and in the supermarket you could only buy a 20bag box of twinnings for something silly like $5 so I was having to ration those.  I have been saved thanks to packages from home.  We also asked for Bisto and oxo as you just don't seem to get it here and gravy comes in a tin YUCK I don't even like to think what that tastes like. 
Russell misses pies!  They seem to have a lot of sweet ones but not savoury, I will have to get baking.
I miss squash/diluting juice I have yet to see that in a shop but we can't really have that sent in the post so I will just have to do without.


Teddy's -V- Moomin's Breakfast

Can you tell who is becoming americanized?!  I am sticking to my marmite on toast, luckily you can get that but only the small jars.  There are so many flavours of pop-tarts I thought that was a 80s/90s thing that fizzled out, obviously not here and I think it mentions somewhere on the box how it includes vitamins or something as silly!!

Saturday 16 January 2010

Exploring

Not to rub your noses in it but we have had some really nice weather this week so on Thursday I packed a nutella sandwich and took myself off to the Mall to check out the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculputure Garden.  I stopped off at the Smithsonian Castle first.  It's not really a 'castle' its just nicknamed that because it looks like one and maybe it makes the Americans feel like they have some more history.


 
 
The sun was shining as I sat in the gardens eating my sandwiches.




 
It was impressive from the inside too. 

The castle was the first of all the Smithsonian institutes and they are named after some English dude James Smithson who had never even been to the States but left half a millon dollars in his will to found an institute in Washington DC 'for the increase and diffussion of knowledge' and so we have the Smithsonian - the worlds largest group of museums and its all free :-)

Some of my favourites at the Hirshhorn Gallery...



'Larkspur' ... two angels kissing??


Martha Rosler 'The Grey Drape'

Pablo Picasso 'Woman with Baby Carriage'


Willem de Kooning 'Woman'


You might recognise this bunny...
from our very own; Barry Flanagan 'The Drummer'



 
Some shots from the mall - The Capitol and Washington Monument

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Julian Casablancas

We went to our first gig in DC last night Julian Casablancas was playing at the 09:30 Club so we thought we would go and check it out.  We weren't expecting much - it's hardly seeing the Strokes but we wanted to see what the club was like too. 



 It was a good little venue but as for the gig there were only a few decent songs, one of which was a Strokes cover.  The songs which were Strokes-esque were the best and the others were all a bit too bad 80's electro/crap rock.  The support were called Tanlines and they were really bad, "I am sick of all this rubbish music, like Animal Collective and all that happy crap!" to quote Teddy, positive as ever.


The snaps are a bit naff, I thought about pinching some but then decided that would be cheating.

Monday 11 January 2010

Back to School

Firstly, Happy new year I hope 2010 is a good one.  I guess you have all had your first week back - I hope it wasn't too much of a chore.  Teddy had his first week in the DC office which went well.  He took in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, I think he is trying to fit in with the American kids!  I have been doing a lot of pottering round; reading, going to the gym and I completed my second crochet project - table mats.  I am quite happy with them not bad for a beginner...



I also took myself to the Textile Museum hoping to find some inspiration for my next project.  They had a Japanese contemporary fashion exhibition on which was really cool as I got to see some real life Issey Miyake clothes, only you couldn't touch :-( 


 

 I think I will get the rough guide out and plan some outtings for this week too xx

Saturday 2 January 2010

Teddy & Moomin's 2009 albums of the year

As 2009 is over we thought we'd give our top albums of the year. It was meant to be a top 5 but we couldn't narrow it down so here is the top 6. First, a few bands that didn't quite make the list; Them Crooked Vultures, The Dead Weather, Richard Hawley, Wolfmother, Devandra Banhart, The Mars Volta and Muse. Yes, that's right, Muse didn't make the list mainly as it's not nearly as good as their other albums apart from a few songs.

So in no particular order...the top 6:



Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!



Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You


 
 Peter Doherty - Grace/Wastelands



 The Flaming Lips - Embryonic




Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk



 The Horrors - Primary Colours