All posts by betty.belanus@gmail.com

Life On (the) Line: Missing the Mall

Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Uncategorized,

My Google photo feed sends me down memory lane with “revisit this day x years ago” and it is painful. The photos this week were all of past Smithsonian Folklife Festivals, where I would have been this year.. except that didn’t work out, right?

For over thirty years, until last year, I’ve been on the National Mall on July 4. It was just another work day, albeit one usually with even more people than usual especially toward the end of the day. And a staff barbecue and fireworks at the end.

This year we went digital, Beyond the Mall, on Facebook Live and YouTube, schedule here. (if you missed the live programs you can watch the recorded versions.) Our team worked on the June 24, July 2 and July 5 programs. It was a lot of work, but nothing compared to the intense planning and execution of doing the Festival on the Mall.

Several members of the Festival staff commented that they didn’t miss the triple H weather (hazy, hot and humid) and the pop-up thunderstorms. But that was all part of the package that came with in-person camaraderie with staff, volunteers, interns, participants, visitors. Hugs and handshakes and sharing good food and laughs.

Will we be back on the Mall next year? We really hope so. And if we are, we will complain about the heat and humidity just as much as always. But if we can gather together and do what we do best, it will be worth it.

Here are some of my photos from past Festivals. Visit us online and keep wishing and hoping for a better next year!

In 2018, we had our Bengali visitors in DC during the Festival. Here they shared our July 4 staff barbecue with a couple of our interns.
2017 “Circus Science” tent with our clown educator friends from the Sarasota, Florida Circus Academy.
2016 Basque program kid’s area, the Txiki Txoko. How many times did we grouse about being swamped by summer day camps in their matching t-shirts? Bring ’em on!

What’s New?

pandemic,

Things are gradually and (for the most part) cautiously coming alive. Plants. Streets. Optimism.

But, things are still turned a bit upside down, like the sunset in the picture above which happened last week. A big cloud of fog descended on the valley just as the sun was setting, and all the color went to the bottom instead of up into the sky. Life is like that right now, right?

The hardest thing is uncertainty. How long will we [fill in the blank]? When will [fill in the blank]? Is it safe to [fill in the blank]? Who knows; wait and see; not for awhile… pick your answer.

And so, we soldier on, Zooming and writing emails and calling/texting. Getting outside. Planting flowers and vegetables. Hoping for the best.

Here are some photos from the past few weeks in my world. From the realm of the real and the virtual; we live in both these days.

Baby plants awaiting transplant into the garden.
At Big Springs State Park, a stand of virgin timber “untouched by the hands of man.”
This is how we are “meeting” our new summer interns.
Nothing beats a cute otter puzzle for a diversion from working! Even a virtual otter is better than no otter at all.

Life in Lockdown

Uncategorized, ,

Blogging in the time of the pandemic is, well, sort of boring. Not much really happens, so there’s not much to write about. And, people are so sick of screens that I’m not sure they need any more reading-on-a-screen.

But, still, what is a blog for anyhow? Mine, because I have relatively few readers, is as much a chronicle of where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing than something I think will ever go viral or have hundreds, much less thousands, of readers.

And, so, as usual I go through my latest photos to see what I’ve found interesting or important to document. Much of them had to do with getting outside in our portion of rural PA. Enjoy if you have not been able to do so yourself and stay safe!

We”ve been taking a lot of long walks in the woods. Finding new parks and new trails.
I take a lot of photos of plants, sort of a digital herbarium. Then you can check their identity with a Google i.d. tool. This is mayapple which I should have known!)
Revamp of garden previously mostly rocks and weeds! Thanks to our landscaping buddy, Tim, and his marvelous little digger.
The late spring has meant more time to appreciate cherry blossoms. These were on the campus of the Mercersburg Academy.
Driving around rural Pennsylvania you inevidibly come across some interesting industrial history like these old coke ovens that fed the steel industry in earlier times. Now a good place for wildflowers to grow.
and theres this on nights when it’s clear…

Cooking Up a Quarantine

#quarantinerecipes, food, ,

Two chain letters (via email but also apparently also via social media) have been circulating, as many of my friends have confirmed, in this time of quarantine. Why this is happening right now is anyone’s speculation, and speculate they have. In the past week or so, articles, features or columns about this phenomenon have appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and on CNN to name only the more reputable sources.

I noticed this trend a little over a week ago, when my husband received the “recipe” chain email. Then I received the “uplifting poem/quote” one. Since then, I have been researching and writing an article for our Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage web site, which will appear just as soon as our beleaguered and over-worked editorial committee gets to it among all the other material they have been rapid-fire publishing in the past few weeks.

I did not respond to the poetry one, but I thought the recipe one would be fun and maybe I would actually get a few good new recipes. Unfortunately, I only received three recipes instead of the thousands I had imagined. (But they were good ones, thanks to those who sent them!)

I sent a recipe that I had recently tried, from Parade magazine, to the email first on the list as per instructions in the letter. It bounced back to me. Maybe it had a typo in it? Or that person changed their email without informing their friends? Or…?

So, my recipe was lost to the many who it would have been forwarded to. But, wait. I could share it with you, dear readers. And without any obligation to forward it to ANYONE unless you do have someone you truly want to share it with. Make sure you get their email correct, though.

Here’s a shot of the recipe as it appeared in the Parade magazine. I made it pretty much word for word, and I am on my second batch now. These are very versatile, as stated. Enjoy and keep safe!

As the World (Keeps) Turn(ing)

childhood; stuff; family, ,

Our family has watched daytime soap operas since before I was born. One of my earliest memories is coming home from kindergarten and watching the soaps on CBS (As the World Turns and The Guiding Light) with my grandmother who babysat us after school while my mom was at work. Years later, my mother, my sister and I got semi-addicted to Days of our Lives, which is one of the few hold-outs of revamped weekday daytime TV. (Most soaps were not so lucky, and got axed in favor of more talk shows and game shows.)

My mom is in assisted living now and I usually call her once a week. One of the things we talk about is “the soap.” We rehash the plot, fill one another in if we missed a day or two, and discuss how ridiculous the storyline has become (or always was?) and always question why we still waste our time watching it.

But, I think right now, “Days” and other fictional distractions are just what we need. While they do sometimes confront “real life” current issues (though not often or particularly well) the soap is taped so far ahead that the storyline now exists in a refreshingly pre-COVID19 bubble. People go from place to place, discussing their problems over meals at the local hang-out, and the most talked-about medical test proves or disproves the paternity of someone’s baby. Unlike watching a movie or TV show with a fixed time period, it just, well, goes on like normal life is supposed to, albeit in a heightened dramatic fashion.

And here we are, in our own real-life soap operas which take place mostly in our our homes, with a reduced cast of characters appearing in person. I haven’t taken a lot pictures in the past couple of weeks, except things I want to share with my remote family members, friends and co-workers. But here are some snaps from my recent activities.

I cut my own bangs and took a selfie. Ugh my face looks terrible… but my hair looks OK.

Like many other people I have been experimenting with new recipes, including this naan bread using self-rising flour (the only kind left at the grocery one day) and Greek yoghurt. Not bad!

I ordered our ginseng friend and colleague Jim Hamilton’s novel… I can read it and call it research, right? It’s a good story so far.

“STAY WELL” is my new sign-off to everyone. We’ll see this through and get to the other side, just as everyone on Days of Our Lives has for 50 years on NBC!

Dispatch from a Happier Time

Guadalajara, Guadalajara, tourism, ,

After our trip in mid-February to Guadalajara, Mexico, I planned all sorts of topics to write about, as I had with trips to France and India in the past. Happy things, bright and sunny things, reflecting the excitement of traveling to a new place full of color, light and warmth.

Then, within a few weeks, the dreaded COVID-19 hit full force and suddenly, despite the early arrival of spring flowers, things seem bleak, bleached out, and hand-sanitized for your protection. My mother’s assisted living facility in South Carolina is closed to visitors; we are teleworking which is okay in the short run but will get old I am sure; and the larger world full of students trying to learn from home, social distancing, and semi-empty grocery shelves is the new reality.

Still, I wanted to share a few lovely moments to add cheer to a cheerless situation. And I might write a couple more blogs on specific topics such as the voladores. But for now, our wonderful trip seems like a dream. And let’s hope our current situation does not turn into a nightmare.

Gaby and M.E. goof off with guavas near a natural warm spring which we took a soak in.
Murals, but famous and not so famous artists, abound in and around Guadalajara. This one was on a small island in the middle of Lake Chapala.
Steve, M.E. and Gaby pose in the late day sun in Tlaquepaque, a town full of crafts, mariachis, and people having a good time.
Even the skeletons were cheery.

Guadalajara: Love at First Bite

tourism, Uncategorized, , ,

Guadalajara, and the area within a couple of hours of the city in its state of Jalisco, is a winter vacationer’s paradise. Warm, balmy days in the mid-70s to low 80s, slightly cooler nights good for a stroll, and plenty of attractions.

I meant to start writing about our wonderful visit there much earlier, but soon after our return, I got felled by some sort of flu. (NOT the dreaded corona virus, I promise – there are still plenty of nasty old garden variety flus out there to content with.)

Now, I am looking over the photos and remembering the great time we had, and especially all the delicious meals. Instead of a lot of writing about the food, here is a photo gallery and commentary about some of our many tasty experiences.

  • Most of these food adventures were led by our friend Gaby and her dad and sometimes her mom. They never steered us wrong! Second day (I was too tired to document the first though wish I had), breakfast on the road to Lake Chapala. The cafe had a French name but the food was all local!
  • My birthday dinner – seafood on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest lake.
  • No, the shrimp are not from the lake…but they were very fresh. The coast is only a few hours away and seafood is very popular even inland.
  • Another lakeside resaturant (different lake, same feel) and more shrimp!
  • Tasty stand on a side street of Tonales.
  • Typical condiments at small stands which feature tacos, quesadillas and other snacks and lunch items
  • Along with your tastes of tequila on a factory tour (in Tequila of course), you get to taste roasted agave. Sort of like a very sweet and stringy pineapple.
  • Meat in its juices is a popular dish.
  • Tortillas (always corn) and condiments (limes, salsas of various heat) along with MEAT!
  • We took a cooking class; here our instructor Naomi had all the ingredients laid out in a colorful array awaiting our lesson.
  • Fish tacos, and so much more. We certainly left full to the brim.
  • Another mostly meat meal at a delicious authentic cantina (singers offering off-key serenades and all) in Zapopan. This one includes four kinds of meat, melted cheese, guacamole and salsas. I lost count of the number of tortillas I wrapped it in and gobbled down!
  • Many flavors of agua fresca to choose from in Zapopan.
  • And, last but not least, one must try the “drunken sandwich” – more meat, this time on bread.
  • And dunked in a liberal amount of hot sauce. It’s a thing that they say you have to try in all the guide books, but the locals like our friend Gaby and her parents discourage it.

OK, so for some mysterious reasons the captions (though I can see them in post editing mode) are not showing up on this post. So, here they are until I figure this problem out:

  1. Most of these food adventures were led by our friend Gaby and her dad and sometimes her mom. They never steered us wrong! Second day (I was too tired to document the first though wish I had), breakfast on the road to Lake Chapala. The cafe had a French name but the food was all local!
  2. My birthday dinner – seafood on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest lake.
  3. No, the shrimp are not from the lake… but they were very fresh. The coast is only a few hours away and seafood is very popular even inland.
  4. Next day, another lakeside restaurant (different lake, same feel) and more shrimp!
  5. Tasty lunch stand on a side street of Tonales, where we visited many crafts shops for souvenirs.
  6. Typical condiments at small stands which feature tacos, quesadillas and other snacks and lunch items.
  7. Along with your tastes of tequila on a factory tour (in Tequila of course), you get to taste roasted agave. Sort of like a very sweet and stringy pineapple.
  8. Meat “in its juices” is a popular dish and it is delish!
  9. Tortillas (always corn) and condiments (limes, salsas of various heat) along with MEAT!
  10. We took a cooking class; here our instructor Naomi had all the ingredients laid out in a colorful array awaiting our lesson.
  11. Fish tacos, shredded pork roast cooked in banana leaves, chorizo and potatoes… oh my, we were so full by the end of the class!
  12. Another mostly meat meal at a delicious authentic cantina (singers offering off-key serenades and all) in Zapopan. This one includes four kinds of meat, melted cheese, guacamole and salsas. I lost count of the number of tortillas I wrapped it in and gobbled down!
  13. Many flavors of agua fresca (a refreshing fruit drink) in Zapopan.
  14. And, last but not least, one must try the “drunken sandwich” – more meat, this time on bread.
  15. And dunked in a liberal amount of hot sauce. It’s a thing that they say you have to try in all the guide books, but the locals like our friend Gaby and her parents discourage it.

Kalorama by Call Box

tourism, ,

On a recent walk in DC, my husband and our young friend Gabriel and I parked the car at Woodley Park and wandered around, through Adams Morgan. We took a couple of turns and found ourselves confronted by the rarified architecture of Sheridan-Kalorama.

This historic district is home to ambassadors, politicians (and their relatives), ex-presidents, and various other rich folks. Gabriel, an avid smart phone user, gave us a running commentary as to whose house was whose, but there was another form of interpretation that, to me, was a lot more fun: repurposed call boxes.

What’s a call box? Well, according to the project’s web site, call boxes were used in the past (from “the 19th century” until the 1970s when the 911 system made them unnecessary) to call police or firemen in emergencies. You may have noticed them on city street corners – boxes of various shapes on a pole, painted red.

In 2003, the committee heading this project starting working to turn the abandoned call boxes into “mini-museums” with interpretive labels on one side, and original art work on the other. There are sixteen of them; we only saw three or four. Finding them all could make for a fun scavenger hunt/walking tour.

The “Women of Influence” box is located just inside a security fence surrounding a stately home. All along this fence is a sign that warns the viewer that you will be violating the law if you get any nearer. This turns out to be Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s digs. The call box is more interesting than that fact in my opinion.

  • The women of influence include Eleanor Roosevelt and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek.
  • Hard to get a good angle on this thanks to Ivanka and Jared’s fence. And leaning in might have brought on the secret police?

Another box detailed the history of a nearby house called The Lindens, which was built in Massachusetts in 1754 and moved to Washington, DC in six railway cars and reassembled in DC in 1935. Without the call box, you’d just walk past the house and probably admire it, but you’d have no idea it was so well traveled.

You can read about the rest of the Sheridan-Kalorama call box mini-museums here. There’s a map of the neighborhood so that you can embark on your own walking tour as well.

“Kalorama” means “fine view” in Latin, and the view is indeed fine there, which we found out as we walked across the bridge back to Woodley Park as the sun was setting.

Getting the Hang of It

Central Pennsylvania, McConnellsburg, The Pulpit, travel, Uncategorized, , ,

“Let’s go jump off a mountain!” No thanks. Standing cautiously on the very top a ramp that ends in nothingness makes me queasy. I take in the view, but step back to safety seconds later.

  • One wonders what happened to this gentleman.
  • Behold the giant thumb!

Visiting The Pulpit, a hang gliders dream launch spot near our vacation cabin above McConnellsburg, PA is a must to take in the splendors of south central Pennsylvania. The rocky promontory, located a little ways beyond the iconic biker beer joint The Mountain House, apparently got its name from a visiting preacher who expounded from the stony perch.

Up a small rock strewn slope, there are two wooden (and, to me, sort of creaky looking) ramps, one smaller than the other. If you go at sunrise, which I never do because I prefer my warm bed at that hour, you can face east and get a glorious view over the ridges. At sunset (the better option in my opinion), you get the view over the town, the farmland and to the western mountains.

One of the many interns who lived with us temporarily over the years, Anneke from Germany, came to the cabin with us one wintry weekend about ten years ago. We walked to the Pulpit and she met some intrepid hang gliders from the club that frequents the site. She fell instantly in love with the idea of learning to hang glide, or, she later decided, to paraglide.

If you think hang gliding sounds risky, paragliding is even more crazy. Instead of jumping off a ramp into nothingness strapped to some substantial wings, you jump into nothingness tethered to a wide parachute held precariously by a bunch of thin ropes. She successfully mastered this bizarre hobby, and last time I checked she was still alive and well.

The view is thrilling enough for me. Leave flying to the birds.

Emissaries from the Past

childhood; stuff; family, History, Holidays

I recently pawed through years of print photos to find “historic” moments in Christmas cookie decorating for a work blog. While searching, I found some fun photos from the past, including with one I will not post because it features me as a child sitting on our camp toilet…nuff said.

The others prompted me to send texts to family and friends bringing back memories, moods and attitudes of times past. These images are not just records of our past exploits and moments caught by chance (or by posing for the camera). They are messages from our past selves, from moments when we were taken over by pure joy, or skepticism, or bonhomie.

Yes, that was really us. And we are still the same people. A little older, but ready to go bravely into yet another year, the turn of a decade. Still ready for experience and adventure. Happy New Year, everyone!

  • Marjorie and I show off our badass Festival attitudes during the 150th anniversary of the Smithsonian in 1996.
  • M.E. comments, “That was back when I could cross dimensions.”
  • Diana and I have a fun moment on a WORK TRIP to Bermuda.
  • Bev, Eliot and M.E. at one of the many Last Dinner on the Titanic parties.