Meet Marlena

Although I am still on a blogging hiatus, I could not resist speaking to this woman and posting her photos.

While cruising the aisles in Whole Foods in St. Paul yesterday I noticed this woman's crocheted bright hat.  I chatted with Marlena and discovered that almost everything she was wearing she had made herself. Assuming that she was a college student, probably working in fashion design, I quizzed her further,  discovered that she is way beyond typical college age, and was floored when she revealed her age.  I decided to keep that information private!

Winter Wonderland. . . Again!

I wonder how many other times I have enjoyed a similar scene in my lifetime?

Meet Yoshi

 What could be sweeter than meeting this little pooch?

While we were waiting for Wild Wendy to be seen and treated by the veterinarian at the University of  Minnesota's vet school's small animal clinic, we got to watch many different canines and felines with their owners. We were delighted to meet Yoshi, a 15-year-old Shih-Tsu poodle mix whose owner had the fun of being with Yoshi since puppyhood. This dog had an unusual mode of transportation that caught everyone's attention.  In my next life, I think I would like to be a veterinarian so I could meet and treat dogs like this well-mannered and sweet dog.

An uncommon sight today

When I was a child, a woman dressed like this was commonplace.  Not anymore!  When this young woman breezed down the aisles at Trader Joe's, I turned my head in her direction and watched as she sped along finding her groceries. Seeing a nun in her religious order's "habit" plus using a smart phone was a bit unusual. Instead of engaging her in conversation since she obviously was in a hurry,  I settled for a stealth photo.

Weather Vane #4

On October 10th and 11th I showed you several very handsome weather vanes.  I found this one atop the roof of the Marine Art Museum in Winona, Minnesota.  After our terrible post-election Presidental  election week, I think that this could be an omen of clear sailing ahead?! One can only hope although the realist in me says, "I don't think so!"

Here, kitty-kitty!

Our neighbour's cat can often be seen roaming the neighbourhood early in the morning or late at night. Wild Wendy is intrigued when she sees him and  tugs at the leash, eager to meet this furry feline.  I think that WW is a bit naive.

Linking to Camera Critters.

Old Hennepin County Courthouse

I recently had occasion to drive to Minneapolis for an appointment and snapped these photos of the former Hennepin County Courthouse

Location:  350 South 5th Street / 4th Avenue

Built:  1888 – 1905

Style:  Richardsonian Romanesquen

Architect:  Franklin Bidwell Long and Francis Kees

Contractor:  C F Haglin & Sons

Description:  The building faces south and is a four story brown colored carnelian granite  structure. The south front has a high square stone tower. The building sits on the north side of a plaza with the new courthouse on the south side. The spacious rotunda houses the statue of the “Father of Waters,” a colossal work of sculptor Larkin Goldsmith Mead, who carved the statue while residing in Florence, Italy. The building was the former courthouse. and now services as the Minneapolis City Hall.

Note:  The first courthouse was built in 1857.

Two More Talented Women Knitters

I was very impressed with how skilfully these women (see yesterday's post, too) knit the lovely garments that they proudly wear! What a delightful group of talented women!!

Talented and Happy Knitters

It is hard to believe but I saw these women-knitters again this past week at a local cafe.  I first met them in September of 2011, and they are still knitting and having a good time socialising and perfecting their considerable skills.

Tomorrow I will show you portraits of a few other talented members of their group.  They remembered that I had taken their photos 5 years ago and invited me to join them.  Hmm!  I always wanted to learn how to knit.  Probably would be a bit intimidating, though!!

I Voted!

Today is the day! This is my second post on this important day plus I added it to Facebook, too. Wild Wendy voted for everyone except the dog catcher!

Marine Art Museum

Although it is lovely and recalls Minnesota in summer, I really should not include this photo for the Marine Art Museum in Winona, Minnesota because it is not representative of this world-class collection of American and European art.  Much to my dismay, I discovered that NO photographs are allowed in this remarkable and small gem of a museum, located in a Mississippi River town with a population of 27, 000.  This stained glass piece was on view in the entrance, and I snapped a photo before I was aware that photography is verboten. I was tempted to snap some unauthorised pictures but did not find any opportunity to do so.

The museum is astonishing with several galleries of truly remarkable paintings, which are on loan from the collection of the museum’s chief backers, Mary Burrichter and her husband, Robert “Bob” Kierlin, whose $700 million fortune derives from Fastenal, his $15 billion Winona-based hardware-supply company that Bloomberg BusinessWeek last year called “the top-performing stock since the crash of ‘87.”

If you read this newspaper article describing the museum, you will appreciate the outstanding  paintings it has on display, and if you are ever in the area (it's a 2-hour drive from the Twin Cities), a visit there would be an extraordinary experience!.

Extreme and Practical Fashions of Saint Laurent

 I enjoyed the exhibit and loved looking at the varied styles Saint Laurent created during his successful career.  I must confess, though, that most of them are garments that I would not be brave enough to wear nor have a place to go to wear them.  The lovely white dress at the bottom is one that I would have enjoyed wearing for a special social event.

Mondrian and Pop Art

Piet Mondrian was the first modern painter Saint Laurent discovered, in 1965, in a book his mother gave him.  Saint Laurent saw how the rhythm of colour could be combined with a bold and forceful line. 

When I saw this dress, I laughed and turned to two women my age and said, "I owned a dress just like this!" Both of them declared that they, too, owned a Mondrian dress. Most women of a certain age probably had one like this!

The Perfection of Style

A special exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum was a selection of 100 haute couture and ready-to-wear garments and accessories from the 44-year career of legendary designer, Yves Saint Laurent.

The Perfection of Style

The exhibition traced the development of Saint Laurent's style.

Sam #2

Australian Aboriginal Art

SAM Seattle Art Museum

We spent a great deal of time in the third floor galleries which contain modern and contemporary art, American, Native American, Australian Aboriginal and Asian Art.

Ceremonial Pieces

Taste-Seattle Art Museum Cafeteria

At the edge of the glacier, she dreams of her sisters"

We spent several hours in SAM, the Seattle Art Museum, on our last day in the city.  We stopped first at the cafeteria and discovered some art by Todd Horton lining the walls.  What a bright and cheerful introduction to this outstanding museum! We enjoyed our delicious, light lunch while surrounded by these wonderful paintings. I sent him a fan letter because I appreciate his talent and the paintings gave us much pleasure. Guess what!? He responded!

If you would like to see more of his paintings, or better yet, buy one or two, contact him here: http://www.toddjhorton.com

Love this little fella--"The Forest Poet"

Artist's Statement: A painting needs to reflect mystery, and if possible, amplify it.  I want to end up with a painting that I haven't entirely planned.  The method of chance, inspiration, and destruction may produce a specific type of picture, but it never produces a totally predetermined one.  And in allowing an unplanned outcome, I hope to achieve the same coherence and objectivity that a random slice of nature always possesses - Todd Horton

Linking to Saturday's Critters

Out-of-Focus, November 2016 Theme Day

Taking photos from a train is a made-to-order situation for an out-of-focus photograph!

Even when distorted, it is obvious that the scenery in Washington state is breathtaking!

On the first day of each month, CDP bloggers post a pre-determined theme. Click here to see how others have interpreted this November 1st theme.

Linked to ABC WEDNESDAY

Seattle Icon

A trip to Seattle would not be complete without a visit to the Space Needle.  It was very crowded, but the view from the observation tower was worth the trip, even though it was raining.

The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, a landmark of the Pacific Northwest, and an icon of Seattle. It was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors, when nearly 20,000 people a day used its elevators.

Once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River; it is 605 ft (184 m) high, 138 ft (42 m) wide, and weighs 9,550 tons. It is built to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour (89 m/s) and earthquakes of up to 9.1 magnitude, as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. It also has 25 lightning rods.

It has an observation deck at 520 ft (160 m) and the rotating SkyCity restaurant at 500 ft (150 m). The downtown Seattleskyline, as well as the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay and surrounding islands can be viewed from the top of the Needle. Photographs of the Seattle skyline often show the Space Needle prominently, above skyscrapers and Mount Rainier.

Visitors can reach the top of the Space Needle by elevators that travel at 10 miles per hour (4.5 m/s). The trip takes 41 seconds. On windy days, the elevators slow to 5 miles per hour (2.2 m/s). On April 19, 1999, the city's Landmarks Preservation Board designated it a historic landmark.

Chihuly Outdoor Garden

It rained every day when we were in Seattle.  An outdoor garden is part of the Chihuly exhibit, but I got at least one fairly decent photo between raindrops.  Wish you could see the rest of the garden, but isn't the color and form terrific?

Chihuly #2

One of several beautiful pillars of glass

 If you have been to a Chihuly Glass Exhibit just about anywhere, one gallery will have the glass pieces, cupids and glass fragments on a ceiling, making photographing it a bit difficult.  Without hesitating, I lay down on the floor, followed by several other photographers and took the photo below. It was worth the difficulty of getting upright again!

Chihuly Museum

A visit to the Chihuly Museum that opened in the Seattle City Center in 2012 is well-worth a trip to Seattle. Each gallery had a central theme and some of the glass pots and baskets in one of the galleries are shown here.  The Southwest Gallery was devoted to Native American cultures with one wall containing hundreds of colorful blankets. Another wall, part of which you can see on the left, showcases traditional baskets combined with Chihuly glass baskets. Part of an explanation in the gallery indicated that the artist noticed that many Indian baskets are not totally symmetrical in shape, often leaning to one side or another.  Chihuly's baskets do the same thing.

Pike Place Flowers

Pike Place Market is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. It is a place of business for many small farmers, craftspeople and merchants. Named after the central street, Pike Place runs northwest from Pike Street to Virginia Street. With more than 10 million visitors annually, Pike Place Market is Seattle's most popular tourist destination and is the 33rd most visited tourist attraction in the world.