Nothing says Art like the Museum Gift Shop

Painted wooden lazy susan – acrylic

A recent trip with my sister to visit my nephew on Parent’s Day at Philadelphia University brought us fun, cheesesteaks and a visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  (I told everyone “Jack has two mommies”).

Parent’s Day started off with the two of us visiting Jack, a freshman, in his dorm at PhilaU.  (I guess that’s better than P.U. which is what I was calling it.)

And what does a freshman want most?  Food, and lots of it.  My sister Alice did not disappoint, bringing frozen homemade meals, Ramen noodles, cookies, and a boat load of other snacks and toiletries including the “soft toilet paper” he specifically requested.  I guess Freshmen tushes are very sensitive these days.

Old Lady in Window, Rovingo /Rovinij Istria, Croatia – Watercolor on 1/2 sheet of Arches 140# cold press

Turns out, we never even made it to any of the Parent’s Day activities.  Jack wanted to go to Pat’s and Geno’s, the rival Philly cheesesteak establishments which are across the street from each other.   We sampled both and I paid the price later on. PLEASE pass the Rolaids!  Jack gave the thumbs up to Geno’s, while Alice gave it to Pat’s.  I just had a stomach ache after tasting both and swore I wouldn’t eat cheesesteak again.  After lunch Jack got a haircut ( #1 buzz ) and then we paid a visit to the Philadelphia Museum.  The big exhibit was Rembrandt and “face of Jesus”  and was interesting.  To balance the viewing we then went over to the contemporary gallery.  We saw plaster casts of people’s navels, saws with “saws” on them, a mobile of wax heads cut off at the necks and numerous other pieces that I didn’t get.    But one of my favorite parts of the day was when we exited through the gift shop after the Rembrandt show. The gift shop had giant fake wheels of cheese, wooden shoes, tulips and some Dutch chocolate along with the usual books and other Rembrandt paraphernalia.

When we exited the Museum, there where two bridal parties taking pictures. We saw a couple get engaged on the steps as their friends & family looked on from the steps above and cheered.  A group of school girls ran up the steps Rocky style. and we took pictures by the Rocky statue.   Alas, we had to leave but a visit back is already int the works.

Above you will find a large lazy susan I painted for my sister-in-law Jeanne.  I think she liked it, but I should have used gloss rather than matte varnish.  The old lady in the window in Istria has finally been completed.  I think she’s turning away because she just ate a Philly cheesesteak and now has agita.

Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornado warnings…what’s next? Locusts?

Old Lady in Window, Rovingo /Rovinij Istria, Croatia – Watercolor  (work in progress) on 1/2 sheet of Arches 140# cold press

No joke.  We’ve had a roller-coaster of a week.  But first let me say thank you to all of my friends and family who wrote, called, emailed and texted asking how we were. We, luckily, are fine.

Our week started out with an earthquake.  Although not officially evacuated, when the building shook everyone ran outside. The last time the building shook like that it was on 9/11.  Interestingly, the people from California were the only ones who did NOT run outside.  They recognized it as an earthquake and stayed indoors.

I did NOT feel the earthquake as I had just run across the street to get some chocolate.  (NY Post Headline:  Woman finally saved by chocolate!)

The week continued with all the Hurricane Irene warnings.  The City took the unprecedented step of shutting down the entire subway system.  Never in my life has the subway system been completely shut down.  Clearly the end of the world was nigh.  There was also a mandatory evacuation of all “zone 1” areas. The hysteria was on.

A cynical  friend posted this.  I got the vodka and I’m a pro at complaining.  I’m still speculating about work on Monday.  Our illustrious mayor also just announced that City offices will be open tomorrow. When asked how workers will get to work he suggested we can take a cab. Don’t get me started.

We’ll see tomorrow morning when I go to the subway if I see the pink plastic that the City uses to let riders know that the station is closed.  (Thanks for the photo Judy!)

The water-color above is a work in progress.  I have so many amazing images from the beautiful country of Croatia which should keep me busy as long as the local natural disasters are kept at bay.  The image above is from Rovingo/Rovinij which is also called the “Venice of Istria” because of its beautiful port.  Many of the towns in Istria have two names.  An Italian name and its Croatian name.   Like Pola/Pula where we stayed with family during the beginning of our trip.  Croatia is an amazing and beautiful place and I can’t wait to return someday soon.