Saturday's details.

Alas, Marshall lost to Hermantown 4-1 today. Better luck next year, guys.

I had a productive day. Whole grain pancakes with Scott, a Scrabble game in which I drew way too many vowels, and then a trip to the National Gallery of Art to meet up with a group of Wellesley alums to tour the Jasper Johns show. An excellent field trip! First of all, I like Johns' work a lot and have been looking forward to seeing this exhibit. It met my expectations, AND I discovered that ANOTHER Jasper Johns exhibit is opening tomorrow, so I need to make sure I go back to check it out.

Among the Wellesley women there, I ran into two acquaintances, which was definitely fun. One was a coworker from my days at the conservation lab in the library. She went on to get her Masters in library conservation science and is in DC interviewing for internships. Great to talk about her about her work - she's so passionate about it, and it brought back lots of great memories from my work at the library. Still one of my favorite jobs, I think. She said that she learned how to make her own bone folders (an integral tool of the trade). A guy came in from Idaho to teach a workshop and brought moose bones for them to use. I'm a little jealous. Funny that I dreamt about making a book last night; I woke up with a great idea for an image to put on the back cover. No idea what the rest of the book looked like though...

The other woman who was fun to talk to was a member of my house council the year I was president of my dorm. She said that one of my R.A.s has moved back to DC and is living right up the street from the zoo, which is funny because whenever I go by the zoo, I think of this particular R.A. and remember how much she said she loved that place the first time I met her.

After the Johns show, I headed down to the basement of the East Building. I remember really liking the "Stations of the Cross" paintings, and they're just as wonderful as I remember - simple, elegant, engaging variations on an extremely simple theme: black verticals on a white background.

It was such a nice day out, and I hadn't been down to the Mall in such a long time, that I decided to wander around down there for a little longer, and made my way over to the Botanic Garden - one of the Smithsonians that I hadn't visited before. It was great - so full of life - plants and flowers and lots of families. Almost made me want to live on the Hill so I could visit more easily more often.

I biked home leisurely. It was warm enough to ditch my jacket and just wear short sleeves - such a treat. Picked up some terrific roast chicken at Sweet Mango Cafe for Scott's and my lunch. Spent an hour working on throws with Scott in the schoolyard down the street. I feel pretty rusty after a winter of not too much Ultimate, but Scott is a terrific coach, and I feel like I improved a little bit. It was so great to be outside. Sunny and 60. Couldn't ask for a nicer spring afternoon!

Back at the ranch, I nailed down our hotel reservations for Italy. Yay! One night in Venice, one in Florence, three in Rome, two in Cinque Terra, and then one more in Rome.

Now I'm off to Aaron's birthday party, which reminds me. What should I do for my birthday this year? I'm turning 26, so an alphabet theme seems appropriate. But I've been meaning to have a math party... maybe combine it with a Pi Day celebration?