Adirondack Museum

We finally got there! Much to my delight, they had a building with antique quilts from the upstate New York area.

Here's a few of the exhibits that caught my eye.
 

There was something I really like about this one. It might have been the colors - they are ones I love to use!

The one on the wall looks like it would fit in to anyone's room today, but it was made in 1853. The one on the bed is a wholecloth quilt that, even though it's hard to see here, was absolutely beautiful.

Applique quilts showing things the north country has to do. I like the croquet one on the top left! I am a sucker for samplers!

Can you even stand this treadle machine? It was in superior condition!

There was much more to see around the museum. This is only one of the many buildings housing amazing artifacts from times past. Have you been there? What was your favorite display?

Don't -blank- and drive

I mean fill in the blank as opposed to the past tense of blink. Such as, don't program an address into your GPS unit and drive. Why not? It seems like what ever else you are doing in the car besides driving will result in some sort of trouble. That trouble can be as simple as something rolling under the seat to the extreme humiliation of getting a ticket with a whopper-sized fine associated with it.

So, I have been hearing about the "no phone zone" lately. You may have too. If I had a limo and never had to drive myself around, I would have no problem signing such an agreement. But the more I think about it, the more it makes some sort of sense. Taking your eyes off the road to type out an email or text message is really dangerous. I watched someone do just that one time. I was in the passenger seat and offered to to the messaging but my offer was declined. So I watched the driver text away while I counted the seconds. It was eye opening to me that a "quick reply" took about a half a minute to process. No one in their right mind would drive a half a minute with their eyes closed.

A Find

Last weekend, my honey and I took a drive out to Massachusetts for a little day trip. It wasn't even long enough to take up a whole day, it was more like a morning trip. Anyways, there were these two little shops that I found with antiques and collectibles and jewelry and purses and hats. You know what I mean... the kind of stores that women absolutely LOVE and their hubbies pretty much cringe over. Yeah, that's where I went while my guy was in a hobby store. You know what I mean... the kind of store that is crammed with boxes full of models and parts and wires and batteries.

Anyways, we each went to our own places for a little while and I found this beauty-

There was a small pile of tatted bookmarks in a rainbow of color combinations. Being someone who knows how to tat, I was immediately drawn to them. The work is just perfect and I really liked the two tones on this one. Just so lacy and pretty. And it was a crying-shame steal at $4. I asked the store owner where she gets them and she said an elderly woman in town makes them for her shop. She even showed me a picture of her. I had to get it. Not because I needed it, but I wanted to support the efforts of the sweet woman who knotted each stitch.

I love crafts. The idea of taking a pile of nothing special (like string and ribbon) and turning it into a beautiful work of art (like this bookmark) is so appealing to me. It is a reminder of how our good God can take the pieces of our broken lives and turn them into a beautiful masterpiece. What find have you come across lately?

OK...one more

I couldn't resist posting it...the Museum's 50's living room:



I am glad that my love for the look of the 50's is confined to the kitchen!

the 50's kitchen

Yes, my love for the 50's kitchen was discovered in it's memorialized glory at the Museum of American History.







I have 50's kitchen stuff but mostly not like what is in these pictures. I do have one of the jello molds that you see hanging on the wall. What can I say, copper in the kitchen is one of my weaknesses!

A wonderful gift

This was in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I can appreciate the work behind this quilt but didn't plan on taking its picture until I went up to it and started to look it over. I saw a block on it that was signed by someone who was from Stillwater NY. The history card said there was a church in Malta who wanted to welcome the new pastor and his wife, so the ladies of the church made this for them. It was dated in the mid-1800's but I don't remember the exact year. Each block has a name and town sewn onto it. I have no idea how it wound up in the museum but it was really cool to find something from a town up our way on display down there.

Home again

After all the goings here and there in DC, we got home last night and all is well.
Other than being tired after working today, we have wonderful memories of our four days in our nation's capital.
Thanks for joining me on the virtual vacation!
Where are you headed next?

Air and Space

I think the most interesting Smithsonian Museum we went to see was the Air and Space museum.



They had all the originals and replicas of early flyers, including the plane of the Wright Brothers and the Spirit of St. Louis:


We saw amazing displays of what NASA has built:


And of course, the lunar landing scene:


It's funny, when I see the planes and the incredible things that are launched into space, I almost wish that I was in the Air Force, like my dad.

5 pictures - 5000 words

Tuesday was one of those days when my honey would be in conference meetings all day and I would go see things that he couldn't care less about. What to do... what to see... where to go...

The art museums it is! There are three of them and I went to them all!

The breath taking lobby of the Museum of Art. The marble pillars were about 50 feet tall and the fountain in the center was topped with the bronze statue and surrounded by the most beautiful flowers.


How well do you know the master painters? Can you name the famous painters of these four works of art?





I wasn't so sure that I wanted to go to the art museums. I have been to galleries before and am usually not enthralled over the experience. This was different. There were people sitting and sketching things. Some would sit on a bench just looking at the masterpieces. It was very right-brained. There were guards everywhere. Walking into Gallery #85 where the Monet works were hung actually took my breath away. What an amazing experience. Seeing a reprint is great. Seeing the original is so much better!

I saw a sketch that was drawn in 1505. I gazed on ancient Chinese vases. I saw a painting done by Leonardo da Vinci. There were perfectly formed statues in stone and in various kinds of metal. Craftsmen have been at it for centuries. Art is a part of man. Creativity is a trait of our good God and He gave it to us to enjoy. I am really glad I decided to go to the art museums. I walked out feeling inspired.

Sightings

There was an elephant in the lobby of the Museum of Natural History. Ok, it was stuffed. I think I'll stay away from these guys.



And this was one of several trains on display in the Transportation Collection of the Museum of American History.




There were a lot of guards around the room where this baby was! Apparently, blue is a very rare color in diamonds. This one is 54.5 carats of rarity.

Sights of DC -day 1

After getting up at 4 in the morning yesterday, Sparkie knew something different was happening. He is wise to the breaking of the daily routine. When he was let out at 4 a.m., and then put back in his "house" at 4:30, we heard him yipping sadly as we shut the door behind us. Feeling a little guilty for about one minute, the reality of what was coming next hit us with great anticipation. We are going to DC! Next stop, the airport for our 6:15 flight out of Albany. Yes!

Arriving in around breakfast time, our cab brought us to the hotel where we were able to check in early. Thankfully the room was empty and ready for us. So we unloaded, went and got some food, and then trekked down to the National Mall.

When we were flying in, the one monument that cannot be mistaken is this one. Even when we viewed it from the plane's window, it looked so tall and proud and strong. Seeing it from the ground is even more amazing. You can always get your bearings if you just look for the Washington Memorial. Unfortunately, it was too cold to be walking around alot, so we didn't get right up to it. Regardless, it was a fabulous thing to see, even if it was at a distance.


One of the attractions we were interested in seeing was the National Aquarium. This was near the monument in the basement of a humungous office building. They had alligators, marine fish, fresh water fish, snakes, frogs, sharks, moray eels, and probably the biggest lobster I've ever seen! He would point his antenna at you, like he wanted you to know he had a bead on you. The salt water tanks are the prettiest, in my opinion. There is nothing more colorful than a reef system.

There is more to say about day 1. This will have to be a two-parter.

Countdown to DC

So, there are only four more days of preparing before we get on that plane early Monday morning.

Interesting enough that the airline is the same one as the airline that crashed into the river not even a couple weeks ago. Not having been on a plane in a very long time, this scenario can't help but fuel a teensy bit of concern in the back of one's mind.

Which reminds me of the first time I boarded a plane. My sister was living in the orient, and my parents and I were going to go see her. This was during a spree of problems with planes where the cargo doors would be ripped off during takeoff, the landing gear would malfunction, some crashed due to pilot error, and most disturbingly, engine failures. One even had an engine fall off of the wing. Of all the plane styles out there, the one we were to take half way around the world had every one of these accidents on their list. Go figure. Nevertheless, we boarded and got there (and back) with no problems.

Now we are considering the details of our time away. What has to be packed. Who is going to do what while we are gone. Whether or not we can get away with just carry ons. Double checking that our life insurance policies are paid up. tee hee! What fun! I love to travel!

Countdown

It was made official on Monday and the countdown has begun. We will be going on a trip to DC on the 26th!

My hubby has to go there for a business conference and I will be his tag-along, his escort, his flying companion, his costume mistress...whatever you want to call me...I'm it!

He made the plans to have us go really early on Monday so we can spend the day doing things in town. Then he has conference things to go to on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then we leave late Thursday to come back after another day of doing things in town.

I am looking forward to the get away. Looking forward to a change of scene.

Have you been to DC? What do you recommend seeing there?