A beautiful world

It’s absolutely gorgeous here today, except for the fact that it’s well below freezing and the paths are treacherous outside the town centres.

Looking out of the window from a warm room, the light is magical.  There’s a pink rosy glow over the frosty trees and if I was of a mind to write poetry, then here’s the inspiration.

But I’m not, so I’ll sit here in the warmth and simply enjoy the scene of frost upon frost upon frost, for there must be at least three layers there and it’s not showing any sign of thaw yet.

To think that we’ve had it lucky so far, with only a small smattering of snow here and there when friends elsewhere in the country have been almost buried in the stuff.  But my goodness, it’s just as cold.

 

There was another lovely rosy glow in Cirencester this morning though, when I met a fellow blogger for a hot drink and a natter in Brewery Arts where the Fires and Feastings exhibition is showing.  Lovely things there!  We especially loved Clare Bassett’s “Escape Artist” series of prints and I’d be very happy indeed to discover a piece of Kerry O’Connor’s work in my stocking, too.  But there is as much pleasure to be had from small, thoughtful surprises too and following my recent penchant for Matrioska dolls, I was delighted with a little gift which will remind me of a lovely morning spent in like-minded company!

 

Cirencester’s Parish Church is wrapped up against the cold as it undergoes some considerable renovation.  I love the way these long-term wrappings are designed to add interest and this one is particularly fascinating (and difficult to photograph!)  It stands proudly over the rather splendid Christmas Market which is taking place in the Marketplace this year.  Feelings are a little mixed, for the resident traders are finding it tough going to compete with the Christmas stalls, especially with the traffic restrictions.  But it’s fun to see the town come alive and bustle with elegant, colourful sights, because this is a Very Smart Christmas Market indeed! 

Me?  I went on a silver glitter hunt and failed miserably, settling for a large bottle of gold from the Pound Shop (yes, not all of Cirencester’s shops are smart and elegant!) and then headed off to another exclusive emporium for one of these.

A full life

I was reading a blog the other day which discussed answers to the question “what do you do?”.  I recall experiencing this very dilemma myself when we first moved to Gloucestershire,  27 years ago this New Years Eve.  Still looking for a job in the area, I soon tired of people asking me what did I do?  If I answered (truthfully) “I’m a teacher”, then the question would immediately come “Oh, where?”  If I said (also truthfully) that I was unemployed, I would receive either a pitying look or be challenged about why I wasn’t spending every waking minute in the queue at the Job Centre.

Because, of course, I didn’t want to say that actually, fingers crossed, I was pregnant.

Some time later, a friend and I cooked up the perfect answer between us.  If anyone asked us what we did, we’d simply answer “Nothing”.  That usually wrong footed the enquirer who often responded  “But surely…”, offering a fine chance to clarify with details of being a full time mother, volunteer, creator of this and that and all round busy person.

But I must say, I rather like the answer “I lead a full life”.

I am also a creature of habit, so here we are, the first Sunday in December and my Hero is going off to his Sunday rehearsal prior to the choir’s concerts at the end of the week.  Tradition demands two dozen mince pies and finding that I’ve taken more or less the same shot of the mince pies for at least two years running, my photo of the day today shoes the casualties, the “cook’s perks”.  Very good they were, too. 

Did you spot the glitter?  The house is glitter-central this week, with twinkles in all kinds of surprising places.  That on the mince pies is the edible variety, which my friend Kelsie, of The Sugar Box assures me has been very on trend since Kirsty Allsopp sprinkled it on her mince pies last year.  Well, we can’t allow ourselves to allow these fancies to pass us by here in the sticks – and in today’s bright sunshine, it’s very effective, too.

Oh, and there are three Christmas cakes in the oven too.

We’re home…and it’s December already

Which means it’s time to begin my Christmas Journal.  I particularly love Shimelle’s Manifesto for 2010.

Our Christmas season got off to a grand start last night, in Cheltenham Town Hall where the Gloucestershire WI choir were in fine voice and Lee Mead was a charming and very talented special guest.  You can read more here.

I’ve written before about the pleasure I take in recording the days.  My photo of the day continues, I’ll love keeping a record of this Christmas nearly as much as looking through the books of Christmases past and of course, I write the occasional blog post about things I’d like to remember.  There are so many encouragements out there to do these things.  In addition to Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas, there’s also Jessica Sprague’s Inspiration Everywhere, and Ali Edward’s December Daily. Helen emailed me about Blipfoto, thinking (correctly) that it’s right up my street, too, and yesterday I followed a link to reverb10, which could be another distraction! 

I know my limits though, so for now, I’ll try to simply keep up with what I’m already doing rather than take on more.  But who knows, perhaps it will soon be time for another challenge?

…and back again

On such a beautiful day, it was hard to think of a reason for taking the T back downtown.  The fresh air and easy walk would be so much better for us, we thought.

After all, there was hardly any traffic – this is around midday on Monday, on what I’d have thought was one of the busier roads in the city.

Anyway, we can spot all kinds of interesting things on foot.

Walking in the opposite direction means that we view a different perspective.  Though we’ve seen (and photographed) the Symphony Hall several times, I’m not sure I’ve taken much notice of the grand Horticultural Society building opposite.

The Prudential Center is a little busier now, with lunchtime shoppers and tourists like ourselves taking advantage of the last bargains.  We head straight through on our way to Newbury Street.

Newbury is a fine avenue of brownstone houses, most of which have been turned into small shops.  There are basements in these houses, so there’s sometimes a small shop downstairs and another one on the raised ground floor, accessed by a flight of stairs.  When we first started coming to Boston some years ago, these stores were rather exclusive, upmarket and slightly forbidding.

These days, that is less so.  The “big boys” have moved into the larger premises and the smaller shops are a little more quirky.

There’s even a branch of the “sewing machine” shop, looking exactly like the other branches we’ve seen here and there.

But we spot Harry and David down there next door so pop inside to take advantage of a sample or two and buy some of our favourite chocolate covered strawberries.

And thanks, the MooseMunch is delicious!

By the time we get to Boston Common, our feet are getting tired, the sun is starting to go down and it’s getting cold.  It’s time to turn around and head back to the hotel.

Walking slowly back along Boylston Street, we spot other little architectural details, fine features of these grand old buildings, some of which have seen better days.

Though the shopwindow offers are fewer and further between, there’s still the odd one which catches our eye, but we resist.

Putting one weary foot in front of the other, we make our way back.

When we’re almost at the crossing in front of the hotel, I see two familiar faces.

We’re back in time to take a quick look at that lovely gunmetal top in Eileen’s shop window down there.  Except that it isn’t gunmetal but black and it’s $318 with no discounts.

Time to move on.

Finally, the American Wing

The new wing of the MFA was opened just a couple of weeks ago and promised much.  The Museum was already one of those memorable places from previous visits and for us, we needed no further temptation to spend more time here. But this new development raised the bar still higher – this is one of the great museums, both in terms of content and now, style of display.

We loved the space, the airy atmosphere reminiscent of the new wing of the Metropolitan, NYC, and the way the theme was carried through from the items on display to the display itself.  Not only that, here were no secrets: the “behind the scenes” area enlightened us to the methods of curation, conservation and exhibitions.  This was very much our sort of place.

We did as we usually do, start at the top and work down.  In MFA terms, that meant starting with the recent, modern and moving down to the old.  So, one of the first things we saw was this Norman Rockwell painting “New Kids in the Neighbourhood”.  We very much like his work and this one captured our attention from the off.  A great start!

But these galleries delivered on all levels – here a detail from a 1920s hand embroidered bedcover, beautifully displayed with relevant artefacts from the era and with enough information to enlighten without overwhelming us.

Just around the corner was the high tech, the interactive touchscreen table display which amused us for a while since we had it to ourselves.  Quite how this works when the galleries are crammed full of school visits, during the weekends or when someone wishes to make serious use of the facility, I have no idea.  But today, for now, it was great!

Throughout these galleries, the one aspect which never failed to impress us was the design which “framed” the choice exhibit.  In almost every case, the view was one which focused on the special item, the gem of a painting or key sculpture.  So clever.  Above, the scale model for Walker Hancock’s war memorial to the workers of the Pennsylvania Railroad is placed centrally in the view.

Moving on into the room of John Singer Sargent’s work, we were immediately captivated by the powerful portraits, as always.

I love the faces of mother and daughter, so beautifully painted, so contemporary in many ways.

Here were other lovely paintings, each with an amusing detail, a small characteristic expression or two.

I particularly liked the portrait of “Miss L” by William Merritt Chase, her clenched fist firmly on her hip in the stance of “the American girl”, forthright, unpretentious and active.  Quite a contrast to some of the other, more simpering beauties!

Here, too, was the “Behind the Scenes” exhibit, with possibly one of the few old Singer sewing machines to escape the window of an All Saints Spitalfields store!  Here were also a few dilemmas to think about, to consider.

It was these such questions which kept us thinking, talking and considering as we moved through the galleries and a feature which we very much appreciated as an insight into the role of those who have built this new gallery and done such a great job.

Into the next room, then, and I spotted my favourite.  Since the very first time we came to this museum, I have loved Winslow Homer’s boys in a pasture.

I was delighted to see it again in a new home – and googling it just now, I realise that I’m not the only one to love it! 

But there were other treasures too, including this one of a young woman wearing “Spitalfields Silk”, which is interesting when we were there so recently.  There were the salon paintings, hung in the style of a “salon”, with the explanation of how and why the arrangements were worked out.  There were room sets from a couple of local homes of wealthy individuals and several of those stiff, uncompromising family portraits which could tell such a story if only they could talk!

By the time we’d reached the ground floor, it was pretty busy and we were ready to take a break.  Next time, we must start at the bottom and work up!

After a drink and a short sit down, we took a short look at the temporary exhibition of work by SCAASI, couturier and dress designer to the stars, including Barbra Streisand, whose collection took centre stage in the exhibit.

I think this could be the first fashion exhibit I’ve seen where I could truthfully say that there was not one dress/ensemble which I liked in any way!  For sure there was skilful construction, artful embroidery and textile manipulation but for the most part, this was fashion of an era which I didn’t find at all appealing.

Or perhaps I was simply overwhelmed by the riches I’d already seen this morning?

Whatever.  The Boston Museum of Fine Arts remains a favourite place to visit and we agree with all the praise heaped upon the new development, which has made it more memorable than ever.  We loved it.