While in the midst of unpacking, painting, a tiny bit of gardening, and Unit 3 Celebration prep, (Pictures are forthcoming for all of you who have requested!) our house decided to spring a leak! =( The water has been turned off, the plumber is here and I am getting a headache.  To get my mind off "things", how about some pictures of Mount Vernon last weekend?  My husband had me choose a special activity.  I had noticed special programming at Mount Vernon for Mother's Day weekend, so off we went!

     There were special events scheduled for the entire day.  First we went to the landscape tour. Before starting, the tour guide told us that earlier that morning, she had been on the shore of the Potomac when a navy ship came by. She asked if we knew what happened. "Oh yes!  They gave honors to George Washington!" I exclaimed.  I wish we could have been there!  It was incredible hearing her describe the experience. 

    On to the landscape tour.  Instead of focusing on plants, we looked at Mount Vernon through the eyes of a surveyor.  After all, that was George Washington's first career. He used these skills to build the beautiful property we enjoy today.    

   After surveying the mansion itself, we went to the pleasure garden.  One of the comments the tour guide made I could not let slip by!  She showed us the fleur de lis garden and said something about Washington never really having something that French and formal. He was an American!

I don't remember exactly what she said, but it was along those lines. I was really bothered by what she said, because it didn't match what I had learned about him.  When we moved on to the kitchen garden, I had a chance to make a comment.  I told her that I had read that historians think that Washington  designed that garden to honor his French "adopted son", the Marquis de Lafayette and the French for their help in the American Revolution. She laughed and said that makes a nice story.  I told her I read it at the Mount Vernon website only a couple of weeks ago!  She was flabbergasted and exclaimed, "Why didn't they tell us that?"    I told her I was a Lafayette fan so I always pay attention to the Lafayette stories.  She said she was a Lafayette fan too but didn't think he'd have approved of a garden like that. I told her that I thought he would have been charmed by it, because he always liked attention and accolades.  Well this spurred lots of Lafayette stories, all of which I've already blogged about. She told the story of the American wolf hound  and "Lafayette we are here." 

     From there we did a few garden tours.  I got some free seeds from the Mount Vernon gardens.

     We played the game of graces.  My son was impressed with how well I did. I was challenged by my garden hat blowing off and holding onto my purse and camera.  Now that I think about it, maybe that was why he was impressed! 

   We watched chocolate being made, in the colonial fashion.  It was similar to what we saw at Colonial Williamsburg but all the steps in the process were laid out at once for us to see.  This was all set up in a tent on the bowling green, with no fireplace.

   We met with Martha Washington in the little theater. Boy did she have the gift of the gab.  She talked and talked and talked, telling  personal warm stories of George Washington as few see him. She talked about his sense of humor and how children adored him.  She told us that she had been getting lots of questions on their presidential pet. She couldn't understand why she was getting so many questions on this one topic.  She told us the first presidential pet was green! It was a parrot! Her granddaughter tried to teach him how to sing in French but it didn't work out too well.

   Then we all went to the bowling green for Martha Washington to toast motherhood. We all got chocolate to drink!  She suggested that we not give the young ones any chocolate.  She said they never allow the children to have chocolate because it is too stimulating. Someone asked what the children could drink and she replied, "Water, light wine..."  We all laughed! 

    Whenever I see an actor/interpreter, I catch myself paying a lot of attention to the costumes. While Martha Washington talked, I couldn't help but think that I have the exact same fabric from her dress, the blue toile, in a comforter I made. I liked her dress a lot and thought about how I could recreate that!

Then we went back to the pleasure garden where period music was being played...

so that we could have dance lessons.