Culture Club

I guess it's been a day or two since I posted anything, eh?

The search for my half-uncle turned up nothing new, as we suspected. We went to the State Police barracks to let them know that we'd be on the property searching and were told by one of the troopers that they planned to take dogs up there the next day. We limited our search to the creeks and creek beds that surround the property, none more than 300 yards from the house. It was a beautiful fall day, sunny and mild with temperatures in the low 60s. The following day, when the dogs were supposed to be taken in, was to be cold and drizzling rain. Not sure how the dogs can track much after 3 months worth of heat, torrential rain at times, and being IN the rain. With hunting season rapidly approaching, it's possible that he'll be found someplace in the woods behind his property.

We didn't have any work for our company that weekend, so we stayed home and got some much needed housework done. Lisa got some floor trim and mouldings cut and stained and put some polyurethane on them. I got the whole house cleaned and dusted. On Sunday, we just sat and vegetated -- it felt good to not have anything hanging over our heads.

Thursday, around 8:00 we were sitting and talking about how we needed to get groceries for the coming week, as well as for Thanksgiving. Lisa said "You want to go now?" and off we went. Food shopping at the grocery store at 8:00 in the evening is great -- hardly anyone there. We got our 23 lb. turkey and everything we need for Thanksgiving dinner, along with routine groceries, and got out of there just at $250. Not so bad, really, considering it's been two weeks since we last shopped.

Friday we went out to the Christmas Tree Shoppes, AC Moore, and Bed Bath and Beyond to look for some nice table cloths for Thanksgiving. We hate the gaggy turkey decorated things and really just want something with a nice "harvest" color theme. We didn't find anything for the table, but did find some cute Christmas decorations. After we shopped, we stopped by the restaurant where Joe tends bar and had a glass of wine. I think he was pleased to see us because it was a bit slow at that time. He told me last night that on Saturday, when he showed up at 5:30, the place was locked up. Apparently all the cooks and a couple of the servers took a "break," and didn't come back until almost 8:00. Not real sure what that was all about but it sounds to me like there's trouble brewing at San Jose's.

We slept in yesterday morning until almost 11:00. I can't remember when the last time was that I slept past 9:00, let alone that late. We got up and had some coffee, putzed around a bit and before we knew it, it was 2:30. I went in and took a long, hot shower, then spent a bit of extra time drying and styling my hair. We got dressed and were off to the Memorial Art Gallery to see the Color and Conservation exhibit of the late Georgia O'Keeffe. The exhibit not only contains original works by the artist, but is accompanied by a host of black and white photographs of the woman, her hands, and sometimes Georgia and her husband Alfred Stieglitz .

The works were brilliant, and were pieces that I was totally unfamiliar with. One, in particular, Abstraction, Seaweed and Water, Maine 1920 caught my eye and I'm now on a mission to get a print of that work. I can't find it anywhere and have searched the web exhaustively. It's possible, I suppose, that prints of it don't exist.

I did, however, buy a print of this work and will take it to get it framed.

Of course, while the print is beautiful, it does not do justice to the original work. The closer you stand to this piece, the more intricate the details become and you find yourself drawn to the lines and curves and colors and highlights. She had said, about this flower, that if she could paint it large enough, everyone would love the flower. She was right. This work is titled Cup of Silver Ginger.



Some time back, a lover of mine bought me this O'Keeffe print. I kept it, not for any sentimental reasons but because it's just beautiful. Lisa loves it, too and after we painted the upstairs, we made the decision to hang it over the fireplace.















I also own these two:




















After the museum, we went to dinner at Edibles, billed as a "hip, urban eatery."

On their menu they have such items as Hog Wings, Caramelized walnut salad, Coconut Crusted Alaskan Cod, Lobster Ravioli, Salmon Baked with a Sour Cherry Glaze and Vegetable Strudel. We enjoyed wine with our appetizer plate, which consisted of some of the Vegetable Strudel, a roast duck pizza, goat cheeze puff, and scallions in a lime sauce. It was amazing! Our entrees were served and we ordered another glass of wine each and enjoyed our dinner. For dessert, we had the Apple Pie Cheesecake.

All told, we had a wonderful weekend. No frantic schedules, lots of rest, and a bit of self-indulgence.