museums

Reilly’s spring break was this past week, and I also didn’t have to work. So, we partied.

Ikea

Tuesday morning we wandered around the entire showroom at Ikea. We talked about improvements we could make to our living space. We recently renewed the lease on our apartment, so we decided to try to create cozy home feelings instead of being poised to move at any second. We purchased a few things and reorganized a bit. I admit that watching a lot of HGTV helps motivate with home projects. That can be bad and good at the same time.

Bridal Veil Falls

Wednesday morning we decided to “hike” Bridal Veil Falls. Utah County offers a ton of easy nearby trails, and the weather permitted us to go and explore the area. We didn’t climb the trail close to the falls, but we stayed on the low path and took pictures and had a picnic and watched people. We also noticed some foreign-sounding accents, which was cool and made me glad that world travelers can enjoy Utah.

More pictures if you click the photo below.

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Natural History Museum

Wednesday evening we met with Reilly’s sister at the Natural History Museum in Salt Lake City. The museum rests on the east foothills, which provides a fantastic view of the city. We started from the fifth floor and worked our way down. The building runs on solar power and the lighting doesn’t waste energy and the exhibits display lots of information about Utah’s natural history. There were displays about climate change and evolution. Sometimes Utah participates in science, which is refreshing.

Solar panels

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My shoes!

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Are they always smiling?

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Luther

We finished the BBC series this week. Two very intense seasons so far. We started about a month ago and then we decided to watch all the episodes. The first season has six episodes, and the second season has four. It actually didn’t take too long.

BYU Museum of Art

Thursday afternoon we visited the heroes exhibit (which has now ended) at the BYU Museum of Art. Last week my friend Bridgette presented a paper at the “We Could Be Heroes” Symposium (which I’m very sad I couldn’t attend); my friend Annie had a display at that exhibit. Thanks, cool friends, for being so cool.

One we finished at the museum, we got the heck off BYU campus.

Kidding. Mostly.

Temple

Friday morning we attended a session at the Mount Timpanogos Temple in American Fork. The temple is a gorgeous building, and the crowded parking lot indicates that it’s constantly busy.

Basketball

Friday evening we met with some friends at the Orem Rec Center to play basketball, which means we shot around for a long time until we played a few rounds of lightning/elimination/speed and then shot around some more.

General Conference

What an uplifting way to end our week-long party. Except we also watched the season premiere of Mad Men. So there’s that.

Now

Since BYU doesn’t have a spring break, this past week felt like a vacation. I enjoyed spending it with Reilly.

So I left the Angel Bethesda and headed toward my original destination with a quicker step. The building to the Frick Collection is very stately and handsome. I walked in, and it felt like a huge living room. After I checked my bag and paid my admission (I wish I could do that for MY living room!), I walked toward the galleries.

Without the audio tour, you could probably cover everything in less than three hours. The place is a delicious accumulation of paintings and sculptures. Everything is well-placed, and not everything by the same artist is clumped together. The first piece I recognized was a Jan Ver Meer; it’s so easy to look at his work and tell. Frick also has El Greco, Rembrandt, Whistler, many others. He has an entire room dedicated to Fragonard. (Remember studying all the naughty interpretations of The Swing?) HUGE panel paintings whose frames are just inches from touching the high ceilings.

I love looking at paintings. Not very good at interpreting them, but it’s enjoyable just to examine them on micro and macro levels.

Macro: Wow, that’s a huge painting. I don’t like that rendering of George Washington. I like the red against the black. I like the soft lines. What’s the big deal about fruit in a bowl? Where is that place? I wish I knew the stories behind the portraits; maybe I can make up my own. The beiges and browns make my eyes lazy. Pink, that’s cool. Who can paint things that tall? How do people accomplish painting what they see?

Micro: Look at how thick the paint is there. Look at the strong lines. The dark folds. Look at how they show the eyes reflecting light with just the tiniest stroke of white. Or is that the glare from the lamp and too much shellac? Who takes the time to paint that many sheep in such great detail? Why are some close up items in better focus than others? Why must the men wear lacy collars and cuffs? So, THIS is how people accomplish painting what they see …

The museum was fun. I crossed Central Park again, gave my regards to Bethesda; descended into the underworld to catch the train. I got off at 125th Street to transfer to the express, and while I was waiting, someone called my name. I recognized her but her name completely escaped me. She was someone I’d known while attending the Brooklyn Branch. She was with a friend, and they were on their way to the Cloisters. They asked about a place to eat in my neighborhood, so I recommended a decent Indian Restaurant. We got off at the same stop. I pointed them in the direction of the restaurant and the Cloisters, then the girl asked if I wanted to join them for lunch. And of course I accepted.

We chatted and ate and had a good time. When we finished, we walked in different directions. She said it perfectly: We have to take advantage of chance encounters. Thus, we do.

It was a good day. Time with friends. Time alone, fed my mind and spirit. And I have church today. Couldn’t have been a better lead-in.