HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - MY LATEST iPAD JIGSAW PUZZLE

I thought this was colorful and very cheery. As I didn't have much else prepared, I thought to share it. 

It has been hot and humid and I'm sure many are experiencing the same. There have been a couple of thunderstorms over the last two days. We saw several downed trees yesterday when out and about. No bad weather on this sunny day. 

We went out yesterday and it was fun. However, those early settlers have my never-ending admiration, also the people who were here long before them. It doesn't really bother Gregg much. He grew up in Virginia. He threw many a baseball in the sandlot on days like this. How about further south or those in the tropics? How do you all handle these sweltering days? 

We came across a new park he saw online, not too far away. We couldn’t believe that we had never heard of the place. Called a hidden gem by the person on the video, it was indeed and only 35-40 minutes away. We asked one of the staff how long it had been designated a public park and he said 20 years. Never even heard anyone mention it on our trips to other parks all these years. It was relatively quiet even on a Saturday. Lovely to discover somewhere new I must say.

 

The other people we saw was a group of what looked like high-school graduates renting kayaks. The last time meet up before they all went their separate ways Gregg thought. There was a boat ramp nearby and several cars were in the nearby parking lot. I will write a post about the place next week. 

Not much else to say so will wish you all a happy Sunday and a great week coming up. 

Also, thanks for stopping by, always very much appreciated. 

 

NO MONDAY MORNING RECIPE BUT EATERIES IN NORTH CAROLINA - PART 6

 

Our first stop as we crossed the border when we drove out of Virginia into North Carolina, was a place that sells Carolina Barbecue, among other things. It's been known to the family since before we were married. We picked up barbecue, buns and fixings to take down to my sister and brother-in-law, which is an hour-and-a-half further south. If ever you find yourself in Moyock, North Carolina, I highly recommend stopping at Southland Restaurant.

Next place was the Surfin' Spoon, a place we were taken to. Its story is here.

I like this place, not only for what they sell, but because of their giving nature initiating this very special program, not forgetting their customers most of all whom donate what they can.

The money is left by those customers and wedged in between each board, from change to paper money. The following photo is one my niece took.

It is collected by the staff and given to Surfing for Autism, which you can read about here. On top of all that, they have an airbnb which you can look at here. 

I enjoyed the artwork on the wall. My second photo above, of the building, was part of that, as was this section with the added photos.

And the family had a great time.

That night we dined at The Village Table and Tavern. I remember eating seafood but I don't recall any more about it, just that it was excellent and again, we all had a good time. No photos of the food though. We were all too busy talking I guess. It was a great evening.

That's all for this one. The next day we headed north. My sister-and-brother-in-law went all out to show us a great time. We were very thankful to them for opening up their home, and they stopped everything to show us around.

Thanks for looking and 

enjoy your day.

AN OLD BLOG POST FROM A TRIP TO THE SEATTLE MUSEUM IN JULY 2010 - PART 2

Continuing my post visiting the Seattle Art Museum in Seattle.

This sculpture is one is made out of porcelain. The plaque read: "St. John the Baptist, 1988. Porcelain. Jeff Koons, American, born 1954."  You can read about it here.

I'm in an area where there is African art, perhaps Nigerian. I wish I had more information but by this time I was getting a little tired and got a bit lax on taking note of things.  I found a page on African art at this website.

The marker on this one below reads: "Lion stool, after 1957. Wood, paint. Ghaniain, Asante."

The following two photos are called Caterpillar Suits by Walter Oltmann.

More information at this link.

This one is called "Boys Blowing Bubbles, 1640's. Oil on canvas. Attributed to Michealina Woutiers. Flemish, ca 1620 - after 1682".  More info here.

This painting was one of my favorites. I found the contemporary art very interesting but I love the traditional pieces.

"Mme. H. and her children. 1815. Oil on canvas. Louis Andre Gabriel Bouchet. French, 1759-1842." And more info here.

This beauty is a: "Mantel Clock, 1799. Gilt, bronze, enamel, white marble. French, Paris. Movement by Ridel."  I couldn't find anything else about it.

There was an Egyptian exhibit....

and a Roman one.

And a room full of hundreds of pieces of porcelain, which kept me entertained for quite a while.

Behind the center display, you can see another wall with more pieces of porcelain.

This website has a photo of the whole room, with several other pieces shown.

Next:"The Italian Room. Wood-paneled room ca 1550-1600. Spruce, Willow and Fir. Northern Lombardy, Chiavenna."  

A description of the Italian Room.

This was on the ceiling.

More information on this room can be found here.

There were many more exhibits but a lot of them I couldn't take photos of because of the rules. One of my favorites was the northwest native art. It was absolutely beautiful and I spent longer there than any other area. I wasn't sure I could take photographs and by the time I had made my way around and figured how things worked, I was too tired to go back and check.  I found photos of various artifacts here.  It looks like it is permanent - fingers crossed.  If you ever find yourself in the area, this museum is definitely worth a visit.  

I have been spoiled by the Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC as they are all free, but I paid my $15 dollar entrance fee to this museum without complaint (the price has no doubt gone up since my visit in 2010).  However, there are 'free' days and this website tells you where and when.   

So, this brings me to the end of my trip to the art museum.  I hope you have enjoyed it.

AN OLD BLOG POST FROM A TRIP TO THE SEATTLE MUSEUM IN JULY 2010 - PART 1

Before my Dear Other Half retired, he went on a business trip for two weeks to Seattle.  These photos are from June 2010, so some of the exhibits, may have changed. 

I joined him midway when he was able to take the Friday through Monday off.  We spent a great time looking around the area, but on the Tuesday, when he had gone back to work, I set out on my own. 

Fortunately, he was working downtown and our hotel was nearby, within easy walking distance of many interesting places, which included the Seattle Art Museum. Outside the building stands the 48-foot-high silhouetted statue of a man with a hammer. I remember watching his arm in a continuous motion, slowly bringing the hammer down, and watching that arm go back up and come down again.  There is an article about it at this link.  It was created by Jonathan Borofsky and is part of the city's permanent public art collection.  If you click on Mr. Borofsky's name, you will see more of his work.  There are even taller versions shown of this particular sculpture in Soeul, Lillestrøm and Frankfort.  At the website it is described as representing a worker and "celebrates the worker’s contribution to society. He or she is the village craftsman, the South African coal miner, the computer operator, the farmer or the aerospace worker - the people who produce the commodities on which we depend."

I was surprised and fascinated to see nine actual cars suspended from the ceiling. The rods sticking out of them lit with pulsating lights. Its creator is Cai Guo Quiang and he has a similar sculpture at the Guggenheim in New York.  If you click on his name it will give you his biography.

I walked up the stairs and passed these beautiful ancient Chinese statues. Below is a ram and the sign read: "Ram. China - Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Thought to be from the spirit path of the tomb of Zhu Gaosui (died 1436), third son of the Yongle emperor (reigned 1403-24). Marble."

Do you see the picture of Picasso? I was disappointed that I would miss his exhibition of artwork as I was too early. His exhibit was due to start after I had left town.

The marker on the the above reads: "Civilian Guardian. China Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). From the spirit path of an unknown tomb of the 17th-18th century. Marble."

The one on the camel reads: "Camel - China - Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Thought to be from the spirit path of the tomb of Zhu Gaosui (died 1436), third son of the Yongle emporor (reigned 1403-24). Marble."

These sentences were printed on one of the walls I walked by.

I found this suit of armor entitled "Some/One" and was amazed to find that it was made using thousands of military dog tags representing soldiers. The creator of this piece is Do-Ho-Suh.  You can see a photo of the back view of this piece if you click here.  My photos don't give it the justice it deserves.  It was magnificent!

The next sculpture was made by German artist Katharina Fritsch, of a six foot tall black mouse sitting on a man in a bed, all snowy white in stark contrast to the mouse.  It was a very effective, visual piece. It is called 'Man and Mouse' and you can read about it at this link. I couldn't help but smile when I saw him.  All these years later as I transferred this blog post, and on doing more research of the artists, I was surprised to see a familiar blue cockerel among her works - I learned it is called Hahn/Cock. I remember it from one of the columns in London on our last visit there in 2015.  It was in Trafalgar Square and I didn't have the chance to take a photo.  We were on a double-decker bus and had passed it before I had the chance to react.  Click on the last link and you can see it also. That particular statue now resides as a permanent exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue.

There are more photos to share but I'll leave that for another day.  I will probably share it next Tuesday if I can get it done in time.

(Graphic for my signature is of the Seattle Skyline and I found it at pixabay.com)