down by the old Mill Stream

My high school alma mater festooned the 1890-built bridge across the Mill Stream, which meanders through the center of the campus, with a fabric display of performance art.  A big sign advertising the kick-off of a new $35 million capital campaign kind of spoiled it.  Can we do beauty just for the sake of beauty?  Because humans do beauty?  You can google "bridges wrapped in fabric" to see other examples.  But I'm proud of what my artist classmate, Emmet Murphy, did this evening.

week away

A beautiful week away on vacation! One day we biked part of the Pittsburgh to Baltimore rails-to-trails trail--well, 11 miles of it, anyway. Another day I drove 12 miles west on old U. S. route 40 to Addison, Pa., to see the extreme art of chain saw sculpting and the restored toll station.

Clear sky. Nice stone wall. As good as the art inside, almost. This view from our parking space yesterday at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. After church in Souderton, it was an easy drive down the Schuylkill Expressway.

Today we honor a lower level of popular culture--Groundhog Day.

then Kentucky

Vacation day two and we arrived at the destination--New Haven, KY. Day three we drove a few miles to Loretto. Here's the downtown, where the pickups look more expensive than the buildings.

Loretto is home to a catholic community including an art studio with fabulous stuff made from odd shaped tree parts. We rented a cottage pretty much secluded in nature, but not far off the road.

After Thanksgiving

All the big things--the wedding and Thanksgiving--are over. Now time to take a break.

How to kick back and relax a day? Go to the big, bustling city. Find the Renoir exhibit. The sign's big enough.

The museum itself is some kind of work of art. It must have just been scrubbed. The Renoir pieces were all landscapes, his earlier work. So beautiful while we are living in an autumnal picture of yellow and red trees.

On the way home we can't miss a stop at Ikea for an office storage unit and a Swedish meatball.