Let's Just Pretend It's Spring

A few days ago, on a typical early March afternoon, HM and I ventured out to catch a glimpse of spring. There are no actual signs of it around here but luckily some nice florists teamed up with the local art center to a give us all a glimpse of what is to come - if the current weather doesn't drive us completely out of our minds! Just kidding, I love all the seasons and can't imagine living anywhere else but sometimes winter can go on way too long.






Rooms of Blooms is an event that combines flowers and artwork and is put on by our local Paine Art Center. A variety of exotic plants and flowers are done up in wildly imaginative bouquets by florists from the area who are inspired by the paintings from the Paine's permanent collection. There are also special displays to complement the rooms and a group of fantasy themed dining tables.

The main gallery showcased a collection of 19th century landscapes, hung salon style. Set among the paintings were the floral arrangements that took their design inspiration from the works of art on the walls. That sounds a little on the stuffy side but it was actually kind of fun to look at the art and flowers together since no two interpretations were the same. The contemporary botanicals were also a nice contrast to all those pictures in their serious gilt frames. 

This bouquet's reverse pony tail had me laughing.

This visitor seemed to blend right in.

There were some groupings that were very carefully color coordinated . . .

. . . and others where the lines between the art and blooms were just a blur.

I'd love to create a tiny meadow like this but what would it look like after my kitties got into it?

Orchids and roses were on display in the Ladies Sitting Room.

This is a look into the powder room off the Ladies Sitting Room.

How much writing do you suppose she is getting done with those two ravens watching?

The Great Hall was full of tables set for fantasy luncheons. This one was very impressive but a little scary to get close to. I was afraid I might bump into a chair and send the whole thing tumbling down!

A unique centerpiece of birds, nests, moss, succulents and folding cameras.

Here is another flower arrangement that called for a wide berth. Luckily, it was very fragrant so I didn't have to get too close. How cute are those lucite chairs?

No flower show would be complete without roses!

I rarely photograph the staircase because, well . . . it's a staircase. However, the handrail is carved with oak leaves and acorns so I sort of felt like it fit in with the overall botanical theme.

More conventional spring flowers were on display in the appropriately dark Gothic Gallery.

Upon leaving the art center we stepped out into a completely different story.

Of course, since this was a celebration of spring, it was snowing heavily.

At least it was pretty.

I'd like to think that in a couple of months all this snow and cold will be completely forgotten.

Ha! Ha! Ha!  Not likely! 

Thanks for stopping by! Has spring showed up where you live? 

Some Winter Madness

 Last Friday, His Madness and I decided to get dressed up in our finest Groundhog Day outfits in honor of our personal weather prognosticator, Backyard Burt. Granted he is a plastic skeleton, not a hibernating rodent but honestly, isn't one shadow as good as the next?

Our winter has been a little odd this year. There have been lots of bright, sunny days where the temperature never got above zero but the strangest part was not having any snow! Yes! A winter with NO SNOW! It did briefly warm up and rain however so at least there was ice. 

Without any snow we were beginning to think an early spring might be in our future. So on Groundhog Day we had high hopes for a positive prediction. Once he had been pried off the couch and coaxed outside, Backyard Burt did see his shadow. According to legend, that means we have six more weeks of winter to look forward to. Fortunately, that is actually a few weeks less than the normal length of winter around here so we pretty happy with the outcome anyway. 

Then it snowed all weekend.

 Lets just say it didn't warm up either.

It seems like the dryness in the air is as bad as the cold. Why does Static Guard smell so awful?

We are now back to a more typical winter, just buried in a little less snow than normal.

Mother Nature did made things look a lot better.

She always manages to cover up all the eyesores . . . 

. . . and even threw in some extra sunshine to make it all sparkle.

Some were happy to resume their usual winter pastimes.

Others were not. 

Thank you for stopping by! How is your winter going?

A Glass Museum

A few days ago I came across some pictures I took last year when His Madness and I visited the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass in a nearby town. Recently I've been sidelined by a pulled muscle in my neck so it's been nearly impossible to accomplish anything, much less coerce Ivy and Burt into doing silly stuff. To pass the time I decided to delete unwanted photos. It also kept me away from the news and being outraged by Trump's latest offenses - why is that moron still president? Anyway, this was in one of the photos I was going to delete. It's from the museum mentioned above and although it's a saying that's been around forever, I suddenly felt the need to analyze it, concluding that it can apply to anything but it describes nothing. Or does it? I always thought it was just one of those things people say when they get caught off guard and can't come up with a positive response. This is exactly the kind of thinking that makes my brain hurt so I decided to do a post on the museum so I can delete the stupid photo and quit thinking about what it says. I do like it as a piece of art.

When HM first suggested we visit this museum I thought, paperweights? Really? What a snore. I did not say this out loud, or at least I don't think I did. Anyway, the thought of wandering through room after room of frilly glass balls wasn't exactly my idea of a good time but there was nothing else to do so off we went. After all, they could have a great gift shop or we might find a nice restaurant nearby.

Much to my surprise, there was an exhibit of neon art. It was actually pretty entertaining to watch the miniature lightning bolts flash to the buzz of the transformers although it could've used some spooky lighting. A few of them would be great as Halloween decorations but done in black, of course.   

There were plenty of the old fashioned, classic paperweights, around four thousand to be exact but also a few new styles with pop-culture themes from Star Wars and Harry Potter.

Then there was this one, I could definitely relate to it. Ha!

Betty's Big Night by Ricky Bernstein is undoubtedly the largest piece in the museum's permanent collection. It's made of blown glass on an aluminum armature. According to Google Arts & Culture, Betty is a 1950's housewife who hopes to win her husband's office party competition by steadying a broom with a bowling ball and one boiled egg on fourteen teacups while balancing on yet another bowling ball with only one foot. It is obviously a metaphor of the expectations of women in the mid-twentieth century but I'm afraid it's still kind of true now, except today she would also have a career.   

Indeed.

The Set for Luna was created in 2011 by Carmen Lozar. It's one of the loveliest little jewels on display, in my estimation anyway. You can see more of her beautiful work here.

It's very small, the catalog dimension are 12.5" x 5.5" x 2.5". I couldn't decide which photo best captured it so I'm including them both. It reminded me a lot of those cute paper dress blog parties. 

The museum itself is fairly small and even on the weekend it wasn't very crowded. After an hour we had seen everything and since the admission was free we left a donation and headed to the city of Appleton to check out the Houdini Museum.

Let's just say that things got a little more interesting there.

Don't worry, I let him out, eventually - but I'll leave that story for another time.

Would you care to share your thoughts on, it is what it is?

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

A Day in Paris with Ivy and Burt

I started this post back in October but Halloween was right around the corner and it seemed a little irrelevant, then eventually I forgot all about it. Since we are currently stuck in yet another episode of sub-zero weather, it seemed like a good time to recall a wonderful day of sightseeing around Paris.

As you can see, Ivy and Burt acquired a couple vices on their trip to the City of Light. Now they begin each day with an expresso and macaroons. It's not like they have to worry about their health. 

I have no sense of direction, so it's a good thing that HM is totally obsessed with knowing exactly where we are ALL of the time. Consequently, I end up doing a lot of standing around while he stares intently at his phone. Usually it drives me crazy but every once in awhile, while I'm trying to be patient, I see something I might otherwise have missed. This time it was the legendary Maxim's restaurant and it was right across the street! I had just taken out my phone to snap a photo when a dune buggy sporting "aloha" on it's bumper whizzed by. Ok, it's not as exciting as seeing some celebrity come stumbling out of the door but still, one of the nearest beaches is Normandy. Wait, was that Burt behind the wheel? Isn't he supposed to be home looking after the kitties?

Then a few blocks away we ran into Ivy! It looks like she was doing some shopping! Earlier I had also stopped by the same Chanel boutique, although I found myself in the rather uncomfortable position of having to explain the Electoral College to my sales associate. He wanted to know how Trump ended up as president when Hilary got almost three million more votes. Due to sheer dumb luck, I had read enough about the creation of the Electoral College so I could explain how we ended up with this national disgrace. He was very nice and we commiserated on the outcome of the election. Throughout our trip, many Europeans I spoke with felt the same way. A lot of them were baffled that we would keep using such an antiquated rule. Most are just as disgusted with Trump as we are. At first I was a little surprised that so many people were concerned about our president but then it dawned on me that there is only one world and we are all in it together.

On a happier note, we eventually tracked down Burt and the four of us set out to visit some favorite spots in the city. Un chat joined us after lunch at le café. Luckily, the kitty didn't care about politics.

What can I say, sometimes it's just fun to take stupid photos. HM wanted to get this one right.

Our next stop, The Pompidou Center, is always a great place to see contemporary art. It's a lot more fun than the Louvre and there's a Dubuffet that's so huge you can walk around inside of it! The lines are shorter, too and you don't need to make an appointment to get in. 

The rooftop restaurant is a terrific place to catch some fantastic views, from the Eiffel Tower . . .

. . . to Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre. 

It's also a wonderful place for people watching but then nearly all of Paris is a great for that! I have to admit to feeling pretty guilty when I saw this book bag. Did Spenser arranged that?

Leaving our kitties always makes me a little sad, even though I know they are being well cared for.

After art and people watching we had to pay a visit to Shakespeare and Company since it's been described as the most famous independent bookstore in the world! It wasn't very crowded that day so we got a chance to leisurely browse around. Burt picked up a mystery for the trip home. If you are curious about it's lengthy history there's an interesting article that was published in Vanity Fair here. 

The final stop of the day was Sainte-Chapelle, the site of the most extensive collection of 13th-century stained glass in the world. It's the one place we always visit when we are lucky enough to find ourselves in Paris. King Louis IX built it in 1238 to hold what he believed was the actual crown of thorns from the crucifixion. He purchased it from an Emperor from Constantinople, although the money was actually paid to the Venetians to whom the relic had been pawned. Obviously, there was a lot of demand for relics at the time. Louis was eventually elevated to sainthood, so the whole thing apparently paid off. Five hundred years later he even got a city in Missouri named after him. Small world, huh? Whatever brought about it's creation, gazing up at nearly solid walls of beautiful stained glass is an awesome experience that never fails to impress me.

Ivy and Burt have been on hiatus for awhile. As I have mentioned before, they are usually banished during those times of the year when we have a lot of visitors. It's not like they are the only skeletons that hang around in private homes, I know of quite a few actually, but they do tend to upset some individuals. Now that the holidays are over they are free and ready to resume their usual antics.

See you soon! Thanks for wandering around a few of our favorite places in Paris with us.