Prom: Here and Gone

Prom was last weekend, and here in our rural school, where the senior class is only 35 students, everybody is invited, otherwise there wouldn't be enough for a fun party!

The girls pretty-fied themselve before the gang came over to take pictures against our old outbuildings and blooming fruit trees...

But the ligth did not cooperate, the evening a little too late, but we did the best we could, chasing the shadows...

The girls were all beautiful and the boys were very handsome...

But no one knew where to look with so many cameras clicking...

The light winning out and the party about to start, everyone headed to their mom or dad's nicer rides...

And let us parents know that the "photo op" was over!

Springbreak 2012: A Day Spent at the CIA

So many museums to see in Chicago and so little time, so we divided and conquered! Well, actually, I informed my family that I would be at the Chicago Institute of Art for most of the day and when they were done at the Field Museum, they could come find me. Half way through, even went across the street to a cafe to rest up and sketch the lions at the entrance, before going back in for another round...
Once inside, I had to focus, still too much to see in in one day, so took the grand staircase up to the second floor...

Where walking into the first gallery, I was instantly "awe" struck with....

Paris Street; Rainy Day, 1877

Gustave Caillebotte
French, 1848-1894

The surrounding walls filled with wonderful painting...

including many Renoirs....

Including this one, his 5 year old son actually the model. Apparently Renoir was so taken with the boy's red locks of hair, he refused to cut them and used his son as a girl model often, until the school the boy was attending insisted his hair should be cut....

Walking through the Renoirs into another gallery are Monet's Haystacks...

several of them, are on one wall and his water lilies are on another. My second trip to this particular gallery that day, I dragged daughter #2 and told her how Monet would set up half a dozen canvas and move down the line as the light is changing, she didn't seem very impressed.

Past the Monet's there were other galleries full of Degas...

I told daughter #2, that Degas really didn't like women that much and liked to paint  them from unappealing angles with not very attractive under lightening, or voyeuristically as if he was spying on them through a keyhole. Don't think that knowledge impressed her either.

I showed her Van Gogh's bedroom...

telling her that it took many years to develop the style he is known for today, for several years painting much more traditionally, as did his friend and nemesis- Paul Gauguin who also painting the pheasants of France...

Before the inhabitants of Tahiti....

And then there was the Toulouse La Trec gallery- so fun...

All the galleries were  so filled with paintings I had seen before in Art History books, famous drawing and prints had to pour out into the halls between the galleries, in front of me two little prints by Durer! (note the date, these things are 700 years old and doesn't he have the coolest signature!I love Durer!!A great illustrator of story ..

Okay, did I mention I love art! More to come later, this was just the second floor and not even all of it- just European Art! Still got the artwork closer to home tomorrow!

Springbreak 2012: took the train to Chicago

We dragged the girls on a train to see the Midwest. I don't know if that was cruel and unusual punishment, they did...

But these kiddos have spent their entire lives on the west side of the Continential Divide, up north as far as Idaho, down south as far as Mexico, out west all the way to the coast, up and down the California  and even farther West to Maui.

East of the Rockies, they have been an hour past 1-25 near the Pawnee Buttes. Not acceptable to their mom, not so big of a deal for their father, okay, I kind of dragged him too, but they have roots in the "fly over " states and well it was the last Spring Break that Daughter #1 would be here for, she is off to college in the Fall.

So we boarded Amtrac, in Grand Junction Colorado, it was a four hour drive north to get there and took the scenic train over the Rockies, this is the Glenwood Springs Depot, near the historic hot springs and Colorado Hotel where word is a "teddy bear" was left on Theodore Roosevelt's pillow on one of his visits.

We also went under the Rockies, through the Moffat Tunnel...we were like underground for 15 minutes, thank goodness on the way back I was noozing and Jon did Not wake me up.

We went through Nebraska in the dark, but the sun came up in Iowa, such wonderful rolling hills, trees in bloom and bud and wonderful old farms and a great observation car with big windows and tables to sketch at...

I looked up the word "valley" for its the synonyms....

for valley - a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river.
We have...

vale- a valley

dale - an open river valley (in a hilly area)
glen - a narrow secluded valley (in the mountains)
gully - deep ditch cut by running water (especially after a prolonged downpour)
holler, hollow - a small valley between mountains; "he built himself a cabin in a hollow high up in the Appalachians

I think 9 out of 10 townships we past in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin had one of the above endings, my favorite, Wis Dells- the only Starbucks we found advertised on I-90 or I-94, when we rented a car to head up to my family's "neck of the woods" in Minnesota.

It took a day and a half to get to Chicago... crossing the Mississippi in daylight, thank goodness...

We finally got to Union Station in Chicago and after a "first taxi" ride for the girls...

We settled into our hotel and after freshing up, went out to explore downtown Chicago, the place to start? The Hancock Observatory, of course!
Here is a 360 degree view....

On the way up, the elavator proudly announced it was the fastest in the world- sure made our ears hurt!
Jon's parents both grew up in Chicago in the 20's and 30's, his grandfather worked for Spiegels, a now defunct but well known department store and his mother grew up downtown, spending much of her time in Lincoln Park and family lore has it that as a little girl she went to see the blood splatters the day after the Valentine's Massacre.