Art and Museums

We went as grandparents, whose grandchildren have discovered a number of the books she wrote for them ... for her ... for us. We can't recall books that we've so enjoyed reading out loud, and perhaps 'loud' is the operative word. The characters become more alive when we stress the words, the outrageous but oh-so-real words. more »

The difficulty and the exertion in sampling and filming marine life is a unique challenge, at times exhilarating but also occasionally disappointing. Sea horses and their kin are being harvested intentionally for the aquarium and medicinal trades, and incidentally as bycatch in the shrimp and bottom trawl fisheries more »

For a third summer, we're assembling a camp experience for our grandchildren with grandparents as camp counselors. We happened upon these activities, based on architecture, at the Victoria and Albert site. We're adding them to our Camp Gray folder. more »

Although the Manchu rulers of Qing dynasty China (1644-1911) loved beautiful things, they were not blind to practicality. In summer, they traded their heavy satin robes for lighter garments made of semi-sheer silk gauze. The open weave of these robes provided not only ventilation, but also the perfect foundation for embroidery carried out in colored silk as well as gold and silver threads. more »