Impressionist Impressions

The phone rang at 8:10 a.m.
"Are you up for an adventure?"

An hour later, Cyndi and I were motoring to the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut. It was their last weekend of The Artist's Garden and exhibit of American impressionist paintings and gardens. 

This image is from the Florence Griswold web site.

I have a whole bunch of pictures, but my camera is refusing to connect to the computer. It says it is, but it's not. I'll check it out at work during lunch.

After touring the museum and before going to the boarding house that Ms. Griswold ran, we had a lovely time sitting in Adirondack chairs just watching the river. The weather on Saturday was fantastic and much cooler than today.

Below is an enlargement of the center of the picture above. I wanted you to see the family of swans.

Not bad for a camera phone, huh? Now, if my phone would only make phone calls, I'd be happy. 

[Here are some of the Griswold boarding house pics -- more after work. I had to eat lunch, ya know!]

 The dining room. The artists painted the panels on the doors and when they ran out of doors, they painted panels in the dining room.

 Above is Ms. Griswold's bedroom. The ship in the picture over the fireplace is the one her father captained.

Above is the door to Ms. G's bedroom -- painted by the only female artist in the bunch!

More dining room art above.

After the Griswold boarding house, it was time for a late lunch and we had a seafood feast at Abbots.

 We ate outside at a picnic table.

What could be better? Eating yummy seafood dreaming about being on one of those sailboats was just lovely. Thanks, Cyndi! (By the way, you forgot to get your money from me for lunch!)

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Did I tell you I went to the Amherst Block Party last Thursday? It was fun to stroll down a closed-to-cars street. There were lots of circus performers from the circus school in Easthampton. 

 This woman did a long routine high above the street with a purple scarf.


As we left work to go to the block party, there was a driveway full of electric cars presented by the Pioneer Valley Electric Auto Club. I posed with the Tesla, which is Lisa's favorite. Its sticker price is around $142,000.

******************************************************

And ...

Last weekend I took a Senior Center bus trip to the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. It was a wonderful trip, but beastly hot. Consequently, what pictures I got are mostly from the open air tram. Their impressionist exhibit of New York painters was very small and no photos were allowed. (The tram pictures are in my camera which won't connect to the pc ...) I was surprised to see a couple of John Singer Sargent paintings -- he's one of my favorites. But his paintings didn't impress me -- they were of a fountain on the grounds.

We had a very lovely luncheon in the restaurant on the grounds. Of course, I'm a sucker for cloth napkins! They had huge photos of gardens and a stream on the wall so you felt as if you were outdoors, but it was mercifully air conditioned.


On the way home, the bus stopped at a diner in CT that also had great food and the biggest pastries I've even seen in my life. I brought Lisa an apple turnover (triangular shaped) and the long side must have been over 8 inches! The form that we use to give the fine money to the Town is called a "turnover" and I always joke, asking Lisa if she wants and apple or cherry turnover. That Monday, she got apple!

****************************************************
Today, Sunday, was my day to "get things done." It was nothing spectacular -- cooking, wash, etc. And the weather has gone from pleasantly cool and dry to hotter and very very humid. I could hardly breathe when I went to the store.

I did manage to make a tasty vegetarian soup with pre-made veggie broth, zucchini, onions, mushrooms and some seasonings.The mini crustless quiche are for breakfast and I haven't tried the veggie (no cheese) eggplant casserole yet. Lisa is bringing me more eggplant from her garden so I figured I should make a casserole she can eat -- no cheese for her!

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I was happy that Netflix sent me an email telling me that there is more Luther to watch. I had, however, forgotten how brutal the murders are. 

Previously, I have been watching 30 in February which is a Swedish series. That's when I found out that I can't knit and read subtitles at the same time. It's about the adventures of some Swedes in Thailand. As with most things Swedish, it has some dark sides to the drama, but I'm enjoying it. You have to get to about the third episode for it to lighten up consistently. 

So Far, It Has Been a Fantastic Labor Day Weekend

Yesterday, Naomi and I decided to go to see the Smith College Museum of Art. Not only did I have a free pass for both of us from the Friends of the Jones Library (thank you very much!), we found a parking space right in front of the museum!

Since you have already been there with me, faithful reader, this will start with a very truncated version of the artist-commissioned women's bathroom. Naomi seemed a little uncomfortable when I walked into the men's room, so I figured she wouldn't want to wait for me to take pictures of that.

Yup, this is one of the sinks -- all were different, but using the same colors.

 Below is the wall as you enter. The sinks are on the right.

Below is the wall all the way at the back.

Needless to say, this is one of the toilets. All are different. Yes, this is after I used it.

 What follows is a random selection of items that I liked. The sculpture above is thought to be a base for a table.

This is one of my favorite benches. It is inlaid and carved.

The box above shows Solomon with the two mothers who were fighting over a baby. The other side does not have a story. This is a reliquary which was used to hold bones of a saint. So I'm wondering if it was empty? Or did they just dump the bones?

Naomi and I rounded off the afternoon with a lovely lunch on the open air covered patio at Esselen. It was a fine time.
****************************************************

Another fine time today was a wonderful feast at Jon and Farah's house next door. I got to meet some lovely people and we all sat on their patio and ate. The weather couldn't have been better -- it was about 78 F. with a breeze. I feel very pampered (and full!). The conversation was great.

I noted that I have until tomorrow to wear white pants and a young woman from India couldn't believe that I was serious when I said, "No white after Labor Day." I did explain that modern women don't go by that any more. I proceeded to reminisce about when I was young and went to church wearing white gloves and a hat. John remembers his mother wearing that ... boy, do I feel old!

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I have a new Netflix obsession: Crossing Lines. The only actor's name that I can remember is Donald Sutherland (he's the big boss). It's a group of crime fighters who traverse Europe and the Netherlands catching bad guys who commit their crimes (usually serial types of killers) in many countries. The theory is that they go undetected because none of the police forces in the various countries share their information with one another. The personalities that they have given the various characters are interesting.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

You know ... I went to look back at the pictures of the bathroom and I have been puzzling about the fish hooks and sea theme. Then it dawned on me. "Give a woman a fish and you have fed her. Teach her to fish and she is set for life." I guess Smith College has taught a lot of women to fish!

Summertime and the Livin' Is Easy

The Walking Stick above was on my screen door and he was about 3 inches long. When Cyndi and I came out of the movies yesterday, people were looking up at a light fixture on the outside of a building. It was a praying (or is that preying?) mantis that was about 5 inches long. I have never seen such a huge bug!

Well, I googled it and it is a Praying Mantis. Look at this from Wikipedia: Females sometimes practice sexual cannibalism, eating their mates after copulation. Occasionally, the females decapitate the males just before or during mating.

I had heard this, but I am wondering about the "sometimes." Would she refrain from eating him because he was particularly charming? Or did she think he would not taste good? Maybe she wanted him to pick up the kids from daycare ...

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

We went to see "Florence Foster Jenkins" and I liked the movie a lot! It was about "Madame Florence" who had more money than sense and she was determined to sing at Carnegie Hall. Of course, neither she nor her husband seemed to notice that she was an awful singer, usually flat and many times shrill. Meryl Streep was great in the leading role accompanied by Hugh Grant.

Her pianist played by Simon Helberg (who plays Wolowitz on "The Big Bang Theory") quickly realizes the truth about her singing. 

When he does, his facial expressions are priceless -- and hilarious.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I spent Friday evening to Sunday afternoon dog sitting for Brownie, who lives next door.

Mostly, he was bored with me because after I threw his rabbit a few times and took him for a short walk, I sat and read. He missed his "sister" who is Sophia and lovely chatterbox of a child.

Those are Cyndi's feet on the right and Brownie is asking me if he can go for a walk with her. Of course, it was o.k. and they took a long walk with much drama. (There was a barking german shepherd who wanted to play and a little girl stuck in a rut on her tiny trike.)

I was thrilled to welcome the family back home and I got a lovely gift from Sophia. I now have my own jewelry maker!

Busy Saturday -- Two Weeks Ago!

I don't want to say that it has been a long time since I did some lopping, but I had to use two hands to steady my water glass just now. I couldn't hold the glass in one hand due to shaking. I got a new pair of loppers -- need I say more?

It's like a jungle here! I had no idea!! I now have piles of cuttings to haul to the way back and no energy to do it. It's at least 4 wagons full of cuttings. Oh, well, they will wait. I have to admit, you can barely tell that I cut anything. Yes, it had gotten that overgrown. It has been so dry, I am surprised. But I guess that's why weeds are so hardy -- they don't need much of anything to thrive.

It's a lovely 77 F. but I have run out of shade -- and energy. Most of you know I'm not a morning person, but I was this morning. So since 5 a.m. (incredible to believe for me!) I've been puttering around doing laundry, dishes, all those boring household chores. As Phyllis Diller used to say, 'I change the beds, vacuum, and clean and no matter what -- six months later, you have to do it all over again!' 

A nap is beginning to sound good ... more later. I'll try to get you some pictures. I like to post pictures! Oh, you knew that. Ta ta for now.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Last Weekend

It's true that I painted this tote bag last Wednesday, but I was too lazy to post it here. This is a copy of a Charles Sheeler called Three White Tulips in a Vase. The original is at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. I have not seen it -- in fact, I had never heard of him. A photo of the original is below. I know, I know, I made a bad copy. I just can't shake my impressionist leanings enough to be "modern art" as he was. I love them both!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I should just stay out of supermarkets. 

I had made the usual Saturday rounds, Farmers' Market, Salvation Army (to drop off used clothing), and Whole Foods to get bacon. I couldn't bring myself to pay $11.00 for 8 ounces of bacon at the Farmers' Market. Luckily, it was cured with sugar and that was my excuse to not buy -- no sugar for me!

I was done and walking to my car when the woman who was parked next to me (whose car is facing out -- she must have "pulled through" from the other side) dumps out some liquid right where I'm going to walk next to my driver's door. I figure, "Nice! At least it's not so much that I can't walk around it."

Her driver's side door is right next to mine. I get in and am fishing for the seat belt with my door open.

The woman backs out. Thunk!

(Remember she is facing out?) She had bent her mirror back on my open door and looked at me angrily as if to say, "What did YOU do?" I pointed out that my door had been open and she shouldn't have been in reverse. She waved me on, but I didn't want to move because she was getting out of her car. It turns out, she did hit the car behind her. The guy and his kid had just arrived in time to see it all.

This comes on the heels of my being screamed at by a very big, very angry woman in another supermarket (Stop in Shop). She's right: I was an asshole. I had to the nerve to say to her college age daughter -- who was going for the third different bag of cherries to "taste test" -- "that's called stealing."  I have learned my lesson -- I will never say anything to anyone again.

I'm running out of supermarkets to go to ...

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

Below you see a result of my having scanned in a black and white photograph. Sorry that I can't figure out how to get it to a decent size. Anyway, the lady with the white collar is my Grammy (Marina), also known as GG (for Great Grandmother) to my daughters. I am the little girl and the woman with her back to the camera and silver hair is Avo (my great grandmother). The man is Michael, my paternal grandfather. I'm guessing my mother took the picture. That's probably about 1956.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

So I guess I should finally tell you about Sunday. Phyllis and I went to the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College. It is under renovation so only about half was open to the public. That was just about right.

The beginning was mostly Russian paintings. Some were interesting in a very modern way.

This, obviously, is winter. Apparently, I didn't get a picture of summer. Sorry about that! 

 I don't know why this one is so fuzzy -- maybe it's because I was excited at two still life paintings in a row!

And that's it. We capped our lovely Sunday afternoon with a coffee in Hadley.  Life is good.

Good Saturday Morning!

I started the day off with a bit of breakfast. These are some of Phyllis' "cherry" tomatoes. I used the quotes because they are huge -- at least three bites each! The scrambled eggs with bacon are on a luncheon-sized plate, by the way.

******************************************************

Last night I spent quite  bit of time adding "Jones Library" to about 15 bags. They are from the BagShare Project. Roxy dropped off about 20 cloth bags to be given away. They have all been made fy Cindy. Both women are anoymous but are great volunteers  who are encouraging the use of recycled bags to take the place of plastic bags which are contributing to ocean pollution among other pollution sites. There are many beautiful patterns, but this is a quick view of some (www.thebagshare.org).

Well, all of the bags have been distributed between the Library and the Farmers' Market. The young farmers were thrilled. I may have to figure out how to get more to distribute. One young woman says she knows a sewing teacher who has many bags to donate to the BagShare group. That will be good.

It was bloomin' hot. The temperature was only 81 F. but the dew point was 69!  So ... that called for an iced coffee from Amherst Coffee.

Yes, that really is two giant pickles in a bag. I bought them from Sunset Farm (where Phyllis works) because they had taste samples and I really liked the lightly brined taste. They will be a good evening snack.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

From the "What Were They Thinking???" category:

Police removed a 5 foot alligator from a West Springfield backyard. They say it weighed between 150 to 180 pounds. 'There is no word on whether the homeowner will be charged.'  Charged with what? Being stupid? Cruelty to all the cats and dogs that got eaten?

The news article says a concerned neighbor called the police. Can you imagine getting up bleary eyed one morning and looking out your bedroom window and seeing a five foot alligator next door? "Holy f***k! How much tequila did I drink?!"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Phyllis and I had a yummy stir fry tonight using many of the fresh veggies that she gave me. 

Here it is before I added the pork and sauce. The "rice" is Miracle Noodle rice.

After Addition of Meat

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

It's Sunday now and I couldn't bring myself to go to church. I slept until almost 9 a.m., not realizing how tired I was. So ... I am now chortling about the fact that I just got 56 points in Words with Friends. Does that make me a bad person?

######################################################
Let the merriment begin! I met Nancy for lunch and we had a nice chat. She's going to Rockport and then Boston for a vacation next week. Her son and his fiance are flying in from Chicago to be with her.

After that it was on to Home Depot to get supplies to refinish my front door. I should be able to do that. Yeah, right.

Then on to Aldis.  Consequently:
A pound of bacon is cooking in the microwave.
8 eggs are on their way to being hard boiled.
A package of Italian sausage is baking.
Also in the oven: 2 chicken thighs with Cajun seasoning, 2 plain chicken thighs, and 4 chicken thighs coated in ground pork rinds.
The crockpot is slowly cooking sirloin 'steak' (great for fajitas!) with mushrooms, garlic and bit of white wine.

I used white wine because it was open and I couldn't see opening a whole bottle of red for that ...

We ate at 1:30 p.m. and since it's now 5 p.m., I'm hungry!  Wonder if there's anything to eat around here ... just kidding, I have leftovers from last night (the stir fry). I'm really happy that I will get all of the food packaging into the trash for tomorrow's pickup. I just have to pack modular servings for lunches and I'll be all set.

Since I still have laundry to do, bushes to cut, and car seats to wash, it's doubtful that I'll be doing anything on refinishing my front door. But I'll report back if I do. 

Have a wonderful rest of day and a great week. This is going to be a great week! I can feel it in my buns. Er, bones.