Boston - Art Theft and Old School Art

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is on all the lists of things to do in Boston, and since I'm in Boston, I went there. Izzy's art collection is totally not to my taste, but it's extensive and impressive, and one of the main draws to the museum, which was her home until she died in 1924, is the lovely courtyard which all the floors of the house built around. 

In 1990, thirteen works of art valued at hundreds of millions of dollars were stolen from the museum. The case was never solved, and the empty frames still hang. Presumably to shame the thieves should they return to browse the remainder of the collection.

 When John Singer Sargent paints your portrait

"Dear diary, this place blows."

"Did I tie this thing right??"

"Peace out, bitches."

MOAD

 Art opening for David Huffman's Terra Incongnita

Scenes around Town

 

Another cool Olafur Eliasson installation

Here's a stock image for a fuller view. 

A Month in San Francisco

I have the upstairs unit of this huge flat.

My pal Brenda arranged for me to house-sit at her neighbor's place in the Castro for a month, how could I pass that up?  

It's a great neighborhood to wander around in, and Brenda knows everyone on the block (neighborhood dinner-club at one of their homes a few houses down last Sunday) -- it's all very Tales of the City. 

I took the day off from work on Friday and headed across the bridge to Muir Woods and then to a lookout point over Muir Beach, great drive on Highway 1. 

Another [birth] Day in Paradise

Enough was finally enough. Vaccines administered, booster in arm, time to go. Masked up, boarded a flight, and stayed at this small hacienda outside Puerto Vallarta for the better part of a week. Came home unscathed by the plague, ready to keep venturing out. Don't know when, don't know where, but I'm ready to cross borders again. 

Hacienda Maria-Elena

 

Kitchen assistant, Fernando, who served meals, drinks, and snacks; my new best friend.

Spent the week alternating between this spot...

...and this one. 

This was the view I had when I looked up from my book(s) from the couch;
five books in five days.

Jen and me.

So Many Views of Mt. Adams

Took a long drive East/Southeast toward Mt. Adams last week for a few days of [mostly] radio silence, reading, walking, and... not working. Been a while since I've had any real R&R. 

I really dislike the word "glamping" but I very much like the idea of being in a campground setting while staying within four walls, sleeping in a bed, having a bathroom and a kitchen, and gazing through a huge picture window to appreciate the outdoors. I definitely wouldn't call this "camping" but I'm not going to use that other word either. 

There was a town a few minutes down the road (using the word "town" loosely; three streets and a general store) but this felt like the middle of nowhere. I would often drive for 20 minutes without seeing another car. 

all the huts are positioned so windows don't face windows of other huts. 

there's a toilet and a hot shower behind that door!

everything you need to prepare a meal - or you can grill outside. 

one word: cozy. 

there are over 40 huts on this property - all laid out so as not to intrude on anyone's solitude. 

  

Turns out there's an Abbey/Buddhist temple/Druid Sanctuary out in the middle of nowhere/rural Washington so I stopped in for Tuesday services.

Buddhist temple / barn... fine line.

grounds at the abbey.

While driving from the hut outpost to the abbey, I passed a sign for a National Wildlife Refuge, so I drove in one day to see what kind of wildlife might be hanging around. I ended up going for a long walk in the woods. 

this is the only wildlife I saw, a tiny snake near the parking lot. I'm afraid of snakes but this one was more like worm. I'm also afraid of worms.