ALLENTOWN ART MUSEUM TO FEGLEY'S BREWWORKS

I needed an art fix. The Allentown Art Museum has a wonderful collection of American Art that you can photograph without flash. Perfect. There were some surprises here, because many pieces resemble old European masters. Like this portrait and the ornate frame.

There are many portraits with ornate frames, but I dwell today on pieces that tell a story, like this look like European village scene. It is a set-up of course, but the artist added the characters that might have had a meeting there. And, I love the details.

The local curs attend these gatherings, spoiling for a fight.

And, in a similar vein, the spoils of the hunt and harvest on display with the dogs growling and challenging each other for morsels.

And what are they snarling over?  Not meat, with a pig’s head hanging right next to them, but a piece of pumpkin.

And the little pups are already learning the language of snarl and growl to defend their food.

Scenery, for the sake of scenery has to be very special for me to enjoy it. I really liked this snow scene because it brings back pleasant memories of snow from my native Michigan without having to live there and endure the endless cold. The memories of that cold, crisp, clean air with the quiet that snow brings to the woods. Lovely.

The museum had a variety or artifacts, with some clothing…

…and textiles.

A beaded purse. These artifacts are high quality, though artful, are still kept to a minimum. You can see those same things in many museums,

The wonderful paintings star, here. This flag touching the ground set up and uproar when this painting was first displayed, and almost got the artist banned.

A zoo lion enjoying a feast is about the closest an American would get to a lion. Those old boy was named Bartholomew and died before the painting was finished. But, isn’t he magnificent?

It covers the ages, from this Pilgrims, a dinner prayer..

…with that detail, of the cat on the steps…

…the years when kids had to work. This shoeshine boy is juggling a shoe brush on his chin to attract customers.

A street urchin with a Jughead hat, praying for a good roll of the dice.

And more modern scenes, of girls visiting on the steps. One with a news paper delivery bag. Perfect detail.

Still life can be informative. Where would we find such a small cabbage with a long stem? We don’t grow our own food for the most part. We take for granted what we have.

A painting of a bad accident is such an unlikely subject, truly American.  Today is a travel day, but let it be said that this museum has so much of value. I really enjoyed it. And the museum is so well lit that you hardly ever find glare on your photos. I’ll post more of them down the line.

We went to Fegley’s Brewworks and I have suffered for want of a decent beer these many weeks. Here was a porter so rich and good, it was as good as Black Butte Porter from Deschutes Brewery, my favorite beer. The Waitress took us to their garden setting where giant posters of their special beers line the walls. Insidious Imperial Stout, Always Sunny Pale Ale, Hop Solutely India Pale Ale, won beer of the year. Rude Elf’s Reserve a Belgian style ale. So many choices. It was so good, and the weather so hot, I drank TWO pints of porter. Wow! What a lovely day.

REVIEW

When you take as many pictures as Jim and I do, its easy to forget where you were when. Everything wants to just rumble together. Its nice to take a day and just enjoy  pictures,  review  fun places, and  people we've met.

The pelican is Louisiana's State Bird. We've seen a number of them. Aren't hey magnificent creatures? These were taken at an unforgettable place, too. Venice, our hop off place to Pilot Town, and the coldest boat ride I've ever had. I chuckle every time I think of it.


From childhood, trees have had an affect on me. I enjoyed climbing them, enjoyed the woods and watched my Dad log and cut pulp. Logging was a fascinating and exciting time in the past. Now I'm a tree hugger. Louisianans revere their trees, though lamenting cutting down all the cypress. Here are some beauties.

Judy Tiner was an interesting neighbor in Opelousas. She was the first woman to work and Oil rig. She stayed with it for 25 years. Now she has a broken neck and was forced to retire. A strong woman with great stories to tell. I'm hoping to interview her by phone and share some of them with you.

And Greg Guirard. He had great stories to tell when we met him and after reading two of his books, I want to hear more.

As I cast about through my albums, I realized I don't take enough portraits.  I should have taken better pictures of the people I meet.

OUR SPANISH HERITAGE

Marie Cousineau chummed with my sister, Dawn, when we were kids. So off we trekked for Sonoma to visit. On the way, a coffee stop brought us to St. Helena and this beautiful building (above) caught my eye. Lovely town, with interesting shops. My Michiganders were amazed at shops offering olive oil tastings.
The adobe oven above is on the grounds of the Mission San Francisco Solano, the northernmost Franciscan Mission of the 12 California Missions founded by Father Junipera Serra. Having lived in California for 55 years, this was one Mission I had never seen. The Missions are a part of California History unknown to them, that and our close connection to our Indian/ Mexican/Spanish state before the 49ers arrived.

This Mission is well preserved and it was quite elaborate as visible in the chapel picture above.

Our next stop, General Vallejo's wonderful home and ranch. Bernice and Marie posed under an orange tree, something they had never seen before, oranges growing on the tree.
The rancho stored grain, olive oil, and other dry goods in the beautiful building above. The Vallejo house is furnished with artifacts from the family, including family portraits. Vallejo became wealthy and was the beneficiary of a 66,000 acre Spanish land grant. When the Americanos came in without their families and a blood lust for gold, life changed dramatically for the Spanish settlers. Vallejo had no interest in gold. He believed in the land, its productivity, as the real wealth of California. That has proven to be true.
A peek inside the house, a piano, harp and wonderful Spanish guitars. They left us with great music, dances, food and adobes. They knew how to live large in this hot, dry country.

DIRTY LAUNDRY? NYET!

Today is laundry day, one of those little things one must do between having fun. I'm soooo enjoying Washington State, but one has to do the laundry. Blogging is a volunteer job and one ends up blogging almost everything you do, but, no one wants to see my dirty laundry. So, I cruised through my photos and decided to choose five favorites. Above is a dancer from Lima, Peru. It was a dinner show and I didn't get her name. (2008)
This is Betty Coleman, 89 years young. She stands in front of one of her husband's paintings. Robert (Bobadoc) Coleman is one of my favorite artists and Betty is one of my favorite people. She is holding a bouquet of bottle brush she just picked. She is from Angels Camp, CA. (2008)
I'm charmed by the pose of this lovely lady with her creamy white shoulders and lace capped sleeves with her back to the artist. I want to know who she is? Who painted her portrait and why from that pose? I delight in enlarging this photo each time I come across her while perusing my albums and I sense a woman of mystery. This portrait hangs in the Astoria Heritage Museum in Astoria, OR. (2009)
This woman made me chuckle as she laid right down on the cement to get the right angle on that flower. She didn't object to my taking her picture taking a picture, but I didn't get her name. This photo was taken at Kautz Winery in Murphys, CA. (2008)
Tiffany, my hairdresser from Angels Camp always wears a smock. I would never have known she had a tattoo until we talked about tattoos and she readily removed her smock and showed them to me. Isn't she a beautiful woman? (2009)
I hope you enjoyed meeting some of my friends and chance encounters.