Welcome to this week’s blog post edition, in which is featured a little road trip to Lockport, a few quotes and some scenery.
Local tourism
This week we were a group of three friends that took to the road for a late breakfast, early lunch, at The Heritage Tea Room. Newly renovated, its wood interior shines, the paint is a fresh deep green, and the wallpaper a cheerful blue and white floral that contrasts with the paintings that hang from a railing. It’s a charming place to go if you like that “stepping back in time” feeling, plus modern amenities. We ate lunch on the patio, shaded from the sun, with a view of the river just beyond.
River Road is one of the most scenic of scenic routes and while travelling it is a treat in itself, we also stopped at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church where we slipped in as final funeral attendees left, to admire the stained glass windows. I would have been curious to hear the sound that comes from these tiny set of pipes…
Across from the church is a cheerful rectory, with artefacts and interactive displays. Mostly I admired the dainty size of the stitches in these granny squares… I like how this shot captures four patterned materials too… the blanket, the chair upholstery, the stool underneath and the carpet. It feels instantly cozy.
Visiting small museums feels a bit like going to an all-you-can-eat buffet. At a buffet, you can sample so much and leave feeling so stuffed. At a museum, there can be so much reading, that the information gathering can leave you feeling oppressed. I would argue that unless you visit a museum by yourself, determined to feel immersed in its subject, going with family or friends exempts you of any reading duties. Flit about like a butterfly, see where your attention goes, read that little plaque if your curiosity invites you to, and move on to the next thing! From this visit, I couldn’t tell you anything about the historical figures profiled, but I learned about how broken dishes could be repaired with staples (See here for example.) and left feeling awed by the contrast it represented to today’s culture of dispose and replace.
Making art and Making a living by Mason Currey
Again, I am mentioning this book, perhaps risking “gushing” doing so… but I finished it this week, almost reluctantly, since I so enjoyed the way it was written. Currey’s final chapter has a passage that crystallizes the impetus behind his book’s project; in opposition to “a kind of stingy, withholding, resentful energy that seems to be trending in society” he looks to the lives of artists.
[…] what I love about the artists in this book is their embrace of the opposite values: of possibility, of giving yourself permission, of staying true to your instincts and indulging them even when they lead someplace totally impractical - especially then - and asking necessity to wait while you figure things out, even if you never quite figure things out.
I am so grateful to him for making this book.
Podcast quote
I liked listening to Bryan Stevenson as a guest on the Ezra Klein podcast. This reflection on linking the past with the present is touching:
What I realized is that there was power in the hopes of those who had come before me. I felt lifted up by generations of people who had struggled. And that’s what we’re trying to do with this history. We want to be very direct about the harms and the horrors of slavery. But we also want people to understand the resilience, the power, the strength, the courage, the character of people to love in the midst of agony. I then gives you something to celebrate in a new way.
The dog is well
The dog, on the children’s summer holiday, gets accessorized with apple-peel bandanas, which he can eat if he’s patient enough for a picture…
Evening walks
Although a weed, the Western Salsify becomes such a cute little puffball among all the Hairy Vetch…
The milkweed is in full bloom right now.
And this “Ipomoea” is called “pretty white trumpet flower” in my head.
Happy Sunday!
