Category Archives: The Arts

Decorated Table

Summer, 2012.  Liz Hottel Barrett is painting the top of a table that Bryan made for their patio.  Another joint project, we made three tables, all of them glass-topped.

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Liz Hottel Barrett in La Traviata, June 2012

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I was in a production of La Traviata with Opera AACC in Maryland last summer.  It was a terrific production, gorgeous principals, amazing costumes and sets, and it was a super challenge to learn the entire rapid chorus in Italian!  I think it was the pinnacle of all my opera productions because the standard was so high. What fun we all had.

Short Story

Sunday Morning, June 9, by Liz Hottel Barrett

This morning, we both left the house at 7:30 am. Bryan took our grandson Tucker to BWI airport for a flight to Grinnell College in Iowa.  Tucker is 17, a junior in high school, and works in a research lab at Hopkins.  I took Tucker’s friend Ryan to Penn Station in Baltimore for a train to Charlottesville where his parents would be meeting him. Ryan lives in Denver, and both boys had been with us since Thursday while their parents were at their 25th UVA reunion.  Ryan had never been on a train, so I promised his parents I’d see him safely settled. After dropping off our charges, Bryan and I planned to meet back at church at 10:00.

There was no traffic this morning and we had left plenty of time, so I took Ryan on a last loop of Annapolis — he was fascinated by the colonial “oldness” of the city and excited to see midshipmen in and about town.   Then on to Baltimore with no cars on the road and still plenty of time to have a quick tour of Baltimore’s fun-filled Inner Harbor on the way.  By the time we reached Penn Station, we still had an hour to wait for the train and found parking across the street from the front door; so we went to the restrooms, checked in with the officials, and clarified how much time we had and would have to board the train.  In fact, we asked as many other things as we could think of to ask to make sure there would be no problems on Ryan’s first train trip.

We had a nice leisurely breakfast at a station cafe.  I love the simplicity of that station. No track levels or any decisions to make — just 6 gates all together clearly displayed.  Our train was slightly delayed, and during breakfast the delay increased a bit, but our sandwiches were good and I had my very first bottled Starbucks Frappucino.  What a disappointment after waiting  all those years!  Ryan still had time for the restroom. Me, too.

We were relieved to see our “Cardinal 51” up on the boarding screen because after all the delay, I didn’t want Bryan to worry even though he is the one who purposefully decided not to carry his cell phone with him.  I got Ryan all settled on the train, showed him where the train bathrooms were, and started to leave. Oops.  The already-moving train was heading for DC, and I was on it, powerless to do anything but enjoy the ride.   Bryan is now at a church luncheon and I am on my way from DC to Baltimore to pick up my car.  Ryan is almost to Charlottesville, VA.

Liz Hottel Barrett


Liz Hottel Barrett’s Ceramic Vase

I’m really proud of my first decent handled vase.  I’ve been working in ceramics for several years but have shied away from decorative pieces because we have no room in our house  left for decoration.   This is a nice place to be able to share my success.  Currently I’m working on a ceramic sea turtle with Mexican designs, but it looks like I won’t be able to finish it until the fall.IMG_1557

Editor’s note 5/2/14:  the turtles are still waiting to be painted.                   Editor’s note 3/28/16: the turtles are still waiting to be painted.
Editor’s note 7/10/16: the turtles are still waiting to be painted.