Refreshed
Technical Difficulties, late post….the media I was trying to embed into this post was not cooperating
Laziness
Getting away, even it was for just an overnight was just what we needed….
Once we checked into Porches it was painful to leave, even for food…
This was my tub in the room! I am a sucker for a claw-foot.
The whole property was pristine, with manicured gardens too. I have got to get me a few of these massive globe onions for our gardens!
On Friday (my birthday) we went to the largest museum in the world (Yes-in little ole North Adams Massachusetts) Mass MoCA. I love this place! If you are into contemporary art visiting North Adams is a must! The installations and exhibits change pretty regularly (annually?), so it is never the same place twice!
The majority of the downstairs of the museum was an exhibition entitled “Badlands”.
Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape, opening Sunday, May 25, 2008, at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) in North Adams, opens the next chapter in the landscape tradition, addressing contemporary ideas of exploration, population of the wilderness, land usage, environmental politics and the relativity of aesthetic beauty. Badlands comes at this critical time, an era when the world is more ecologically aware yet more desperately in need of solutions than ever before. The artists in this exhibition share this collective anxiety some turn to the past to see how their predecessors negotiated the terrain of the landscape while some propose entirely new ideas. While deeply aware of the legacy of the landscape, each of these artist reinvents the genre to produce works that look beyond vast beauty to address current environmental issues.
One artist had these awesome biospheres….
Vaughn Bell’s Personal Biospheres which give gallery visitors their own miniature landscapes to experience by popping their head into Plexiglas domes filled with small working ecosystems. Bell’s new custom biospheres forBadlands will be based on the landscape of North Adams.
It was really cool inside the biosphere. The air is so fresh and clean inside.
Another part of the badlands exhibit was photographs from the Center of Land use Interpretation. Check out their website it is really cool and interesting.
There was also this amazing installation in the large, very large (nearly football field sized) room upstairs. The best way to describe it is to show you…. Imagine sitting in a 12 foot in diameter bean bag chair watching this….. go here (sorry for whatever reason I was unable to embed the video, I think it might be the free blog thing) The Jenny Holzer installation was really awesome (if you get into that sort of thing)
After the MoCA we shopped til we dropped and meandered home via Route 2, which follows a portion of the Mohawk Trail. And at last… I did get to dip my tootsies in the Deerfield River!
Happy Birthday to me!
Laziness has set in…
Hey look at that, this ended up being a halfway decent blog post
I think, NO, I know I really needed a few days off from work and life in general. However is it possible that three days vacation is just too long for me? Laziness, sheer and unadulterated laziness had enough time to dig it’s ugly claws into me, deep into me. That is why I have not blogged, nor done any chores, nor made any decisions, nor returned any e-mails, nor called anyone back since sometime last week. I have been living in a hedonistic bubble and have been enjoying it a little too much (What makes it more fun is that my other half, H, has been in the bubble with me, we are very bad influences on one another)
I am hoping now that I am back to work that my routine will also kick back in.
All is not lost though. I did manage to fulfill a commitment other than work today. I had my first volunteer shift at the Cat Shelter tonight. Scooping poop, folding laundry, washing floors and playing/snuggling with the kitties. I made some feline friends, and some grumps have yet to warm up to me. The place is rampant with kittens right now, there are easily 3 dozen running around the place. You have to watch your every step to not stomp on one. They are a riot to watch scamper, jump and roll. But then there is one named “cupcake” that breaks my heart. Her rear legs are nearly paralyzed and then there are her five brothers & sisters trample all over her. It is my understanding that she may be able to be rehabilitated to walk again, but the commitment to get her there is PT every two or so hours, unfortunately it appears that frequency is too intense for the volunteer infrastructure of the organization at this moment. I wish I had the time to be able to help her. But I am going to keep an eye out for that special person who may be able to be her angel. In the meantime I might stop by some extra time to hold her and give her some Reiki. I have to remember to keep it all in perspective. Number one – I must remind myself that I cannot save the world. And out of all the cats there at the moment it is amazing that she is the only one with a severe disability like that. I am sure that the shelter has seen worse injuries and disabilities, and if I am in it for the long haul I will probably see worse as well. Cupcake is loved regardless of disability and will eventually find a forever home that is perfect for her needs. Cats aside, the humans there are pretty cool too, they are good peeps who set time aside and volunteer because they care about the cats. I think I am going to really like it there. I’ll keep you all posted. And still the answer is NO I have not come home with a cat yet.
Since my regular shift at the shelter is going to be Monday nights I am going to have to probably permanently move “Chick Flick Nite” to another day of the week. Right now I am thinking Thursday, but I won’t make any promises. Nonetheless I enjoy my movie time and want to set aside that special time for me to indulge in the latest chick flicks, cry/sob/sniffle/tear, and inform all of you my opinion on the number of tissues you will need to properly enjoy the film.
I will try banish the laziness and finish up the “vacation post” with pics tomorrow or Wednesday. ’Til then namaste.
Berkshire Bound
I wanted to wake up someplace other than home on my 39th birthday…
So we are going out to one of my favorite parts of the state. Heading out to cool off in the Berkshire Mountains, North Adams, for two days. Staying at the “Ultra Savvy” Porches Inn. Hope to visit Mass MOCA, cool our tootsies off in the Deerfield River and just be in the moment.
(of course we will be taking lots of pictures too)
See you all when we get back and I am a year older.
How does your garden grow?
Spent some time in the yard documenting progress
Yesterday….
Today….
Just a few days later the Peonies are almost spent now….
King Leo now has needles and Oh, my he is getting TALL!
The baby White Pines we planted just after the last frost all have new growth!
This is my new “Corn Flower” – Centaurea Montana – Gold Bullion
The Mountain Laurels are blooming too <<sniffle, sniffle, ah-choo>> (great for allergies). See the big fuzzy bumble bee?
These False Indigo- Baptistia Australis attract Hummingbirds, but they are too fast to snap a picture of. By the time I get my camera they are long gone!
Lastly, this is where the Chipmunks live (well at least 2 of the dozen or so holes we can find in the yard). I think we have a whole Metropolis of the cute fuzzy striped critters living under the yard.
Time for me to gloat a little….
5 Day Weekend!
It is 5pm EST and I do not have to be back at work until Monday 8am! Yes, I have a 5 day weekend! <<<Happy Dance>>>
Not sure what I am going to to with all this time, I have no definite plans. I am most certainly going to snap some pictures, blog, garden, knit, read, and have a little me time. I am obligated to do the dreaded dress shopping ritual for a wedding at the end of the month. Will drop by the Cat Shelter to firm up my Volunteering. Might pop away from town for an overnight somewhere too.
I have not had time off in a long time so I don’t really care where I am and what I am doing; what matters is I don’t have to work or be the boss for a few days!
Stay tuned for posts detailing my exciting 5 day weekend (ha-ha-ha)
Yippee, it is 92 degrees, I am sweating just being, and I am off to yoga class now. Good news is maybe I’ll be 5 pounds lighter after it is over.
