Today I was in Washington DC at the White House as a Trustee of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. It is a simple affair every year with the winners of the National Design Awards and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush. There are many historical pieces of art on display at the White House, but my favorite “things” to look at are the wonderful views from the inside of the First House like the simple and enigmatic Washington Monument. I enjoyed the awkward differences in my local surrounds of the frill and fine craft of the parlour compared with the stark, skyward facing object not so far away.