It's December 18! (Part 1 of 3)

 And it's too late to send Christmas cards. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Would you believe I'm too lazy? Well, that's the truth. Thank you to all of you who have sent me cards -- I love seeing pictures of your family and your little notes. This blog is my Christmas card, hopefully entertaining. 

Deb sent this to us with the caption "Santaaaa!" I assume you are supposed to hear Elf saying that in his exuberant way.

Santa visited the Conway Humane Society and Pork Chop had fun.

Mom's tree has been up since Thanksgiving!

And this is the picture that I was supposed to turn into a Christmas card. 

A neighbor finally saw my two daughters together and declared that we all look alike. I'm not so sure about that, but I tend to agree when we are all wearing the same pajamas, lol.

We have been busy! Last night we walked and walked to see animals and the Wild Lights at The Living Desert. It was lovely, not too cold, but I did have a sweater under my spring jacket. Paul, Eric, Ron, Lulu (Eric's Mom), my Mom and I had a great time.

It was definitely a full moon!

The train is now huge compared to when I first saw it. In fact, there is now an Engineer's booth where s/he can control the many trains. Families or businesses can buy a "billboard" in the train yard. There are many vinettes from farms to western towns of the Wild West Era and all have accompanying sounds.

This is Paul with his gayly lit hat. He and Eric were our guides and we could always see their hats. Many people complimented the guys on their hats. Paul was too modest to admit to his after-purchase modifications (the lights).

We had a friend over for Sunday brunch with crustless quiche, good bakery bread, ham, fruit, etc. Lots of lively conversation ensued.

A couple of days before the brunch, Mom and I went to hear the Gay Men's Chorus perform their holiday program. They had a special surprise guest of Michelle McConnell who (over 6 years) had sung 2200 performances of the Phantom of the Opera. I was surprised since this seemed to be the first time there was a special guest. Of course, the 90 men on stage were the stars.

Prior to the show -- we were early to be sure to get a parking space -- we walked across the street from the Museum. The Annenburg Theater is where the GMChorus performs.

Directly across the street from the Palm Springs Art Museum is the History of Suspended Time: Monument for the Impossible by Gonzalo Labrija. 

Yes, it is suspended over a pool of liquid. I almost said 'water,' but it must be something other than water because it would dry up.

Quote:

The installation is meant to encourage thought about “suspension and the passage of time — focusing on precise moments of stillness and impact." said Rochelle Steiner, the museum's chief curator and director of public programs and education. ~ from The Desert Sun

And a bit further up the road is Marilyn, which you will see in the next blog (titled Art for Art's Sake). That will also talk about Mom's and my trip to Scottsdale, Arizona.  :)

Art for Art's Sake (Part 3 of 3)

 

And, of course, we went to Talesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home for many years. They were also hosting a Chihuly exhibit called "Chihuly in the Desert". I've seen his work many times but these pieces were new to me.

There is a sculpture garden.

Lines of the building mirror the mountains.

Front gate which also mirrors the landscape.

This is a "Theatre Vignette." It's from the Ching Dynasty and apparently all 12 of them were danaged during shipping, so FLW bought all of them! I don't know if I have pictures of the dozen, but I tried.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Office

I liked this horse even if he is ridden by a headless horseman.

I know many of my photos need cropping, but this has already taken a lot of time to assemble.

These glass reeds swayed in the wind which made me think that the placement had to be precise so that it did not become a huge, possibly shattered, wind chime.

This building was plagued with roof leaks so canvas panels were replaced with lucite panels.

I like this shot of the desert.

Frank Lloyd Wright collected local art.

Mrs. Wright wanted something comfortable, unlike this chair. You can see the gold  chairs and ottoman  that she bought in the photo below.

Mrs. Wright said this dragon did not belong on top of a fountain, spitting water. So she had him moved and on special occasions, he spits fire!

Students' work space. The wooden benches looked very hard. FLWright's had a furry cushion.

This fountain made soft gong-like noises when the water hit the metal circle.

The corridor leading to the movie/meeting room. The building and rooms were built by the students who paid $650 to attend (equivalent now to Harvard's tuition) and they worked 10 hours a day building. If there were a dinner with guests at night, the students had to serve the guests.

I especially liked these lights.

We could hear the tour guide in the back even when she whispered.

Some chairs are facing the back to facilitate conversation; they can be turned to face front for a lecture or movie. The tour guide asked us to note the triangular light on the end of the row (set in concrete) because it was one of the first of this type of lighting.

In the gift shop, this was my favorite. Since it was only priced at $10,700 I thought my daughter might buy it for me for Christmas. She declined.

Another favorite.

So ends our tour!