News in the Neighborhood

Another year of swimming lessons are in the books!

Our museum unveiled a new mural that was recreated from a black and white photo taken 100 years ago of Kettle Falls area on the Columbia River as it was before the Grand Coulee Dam was completed downstream in 1941. This area is now under water.

In other news Greg replaced our aged and failing gate this past week.

As usual he does great work!

The 2025 soccer season is on full kick ahead. Addy and JJ are busy on the pitch.

It’s a ‘kick’ to see their dad referring, too.

Hope y’all have a great Friday!

Weekend Wrap-Up

On Friday afternoon there was an advertised Birthday Party for Smokey The Bear at the Colville Museum but Smokey never showed. It was still a fun experience to walk around the museum and the museum grounds.

On Saturday we took a early morning trip to Spokane to make purchases to re-stock the kitchen cupboards at church since our VBS week depleted all the stock. The sunflower fields were not in their glory but it was fun to whiz by the fields of yellow and green.

Sunday morning was a wonderful church service with our VBS kids starting us off with one of their VBS Songs, God made the Manatee. From beginning to end it was good to worship God together.

On Sunday evening we celebrated our Grands’ Granny’s birthday at our Colville kids and this was the sunset we enjoyed driving down their driveway for home.

It was a good full weekend. Looking forward to Mid-week when Uncle Joshie and Auntie Lolo are planning a drive over the mountains for a short visit to enjoy some summer activities with us.

Have a good week everyone.

Artsy Hodgepodge

We have visited some art museums in our travels and a local one in Seattle when we lived on that side of the state. The piece above stood out to me on one of our visits. The description of this piece reads “One of the most penetrating portraitists of the seventeenth century, Phillipe de Champaigne assimilated his observations of real people into religious paintings giving them a down-to-earth quality. Here, the central focus is the aged face of Elizabeth, as she affectionately greets her younger cousin, the Virgin Mary. According to the Gospel of Luke, both women were pregnant–Elizabeth with John the Baptist and Mary with Jesus. For Christians, their meeting symbolized the transition from the Old Law to the New Law of Christianity.”

Thank you to Joyce for Hodgepodge Wednesday. Here are this weeks questions to ponder.

1. October 25th is International Artists Day…do you have a favorite artist? If so tell us who and why.

I enjoy Impressionists like Renoir or Monet.

2. Would you describe yourself as artistic? Elaborate.

No, and here is an example of my flop of a craft project…

Mine is the angry matryoshka on the far right. Everyone else had a cute result.

3. What’s a skill, task, hobby, or job you’ve done so often you now have it ‘down to a fine art’?

Setting a table…

4. How often do you dine out? Fast food, fine dining, or somewhere in between? Tell us about a less than stellar restaurant experience you’ve had recently (or not so recently if that’s easier).

We probably eat out once a week even though our choices are very limited here in Colville.

My less than stellar experiences are mostly my fault because I order the wrong item.

The latest less than stellar experience was not noticing that the waitress gave us the wrong bill and a week later when looking at the receipt I realized that error. We were suffering from jetlag and our brains were not up to par.

5. Do you celebrate Halloween? To what extent? Are there trick or treaters where you live?

We love trick or treaters but decor and celebrations are on the down low. Now that we live farther from the city and on a country road we do not get trick or treaters except for our grandchildren who dress up with their parents and come over for treats!

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Our larches have turned golden…

Enjoy the end of October y’all!

Museum of Natural History ~ Oxford

On Friday September 23rd, 2022 we had breakfast at the hotel in Woodstock and then checked out and waited for a taxi to take us back to Oxford where we had reservations for our last night in England.

This was the lodge we stayed in on Banbury Road. Check in wasn’t until four so we had many hours to see what we could see after our taxi dropped us off. Thankfully we could leave our luggage at the lodge.

We found our way to Parks Rd. and made note of when it would be possible for us to get into the grounds of Keble College, not until the afternoon. Across from Keble College was the Museum of Natural History so we decided to take a peek.

I was drawn to the statues throughout the museum of scientists, mathematicians and philosophers. I only took photos of a few of them and probably missed the more famous.

In the main exhibition room of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (built 1854-60) are 18 statues of eminent scientists, philosophers and engineers and 10 busts of Oxford men of science that have made a significant contribution to the Museum, plus a portrait medallion of the architect of the building. The 19th statue is that of the founder, the Prince Consort, is placed more central in the hall.
The plan was that each pillar around the gallery would play host to a statue of one of the great scientists. The statues were paid for by private subscription however, and unfortunately only 19 full statues were completed. Many of these were presented by Queen Victoria. All but one of the statues is carved in Caen stone – a limestone from Normandy in France. Many of the sculptors were well-known Victorian artists.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz German mathematician and philosopher

Euclid ~sometimes called Euclid of Alexandria, Greek mathematician, often referred to as the ‘Father of Geometry

Joseph Priestly credited with the discovery of oxygen.

John Hunter ~ Scottish surgeon, one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his day.

This bear was labelled from Washington State which made me smile and click a photo.

From the museum we walked across University Park to get to the River Cherwell and walk up the river path to make our way on the back roads to Broad Street.

Just a few more posts to finish off our travels from Oxfordshire in September of 2022.

Back to the Present: This is a busier week for us starting with a nice long doctor appointment and new instructions for Dear’s treatments. We had a little more snow overnight and our temperatures are still starting below freezing but managing to get up over freezing as the day progresses. My sister, Vera, is celebrating her birthday today. She’s a Leap Year baby so on the off years we celebrate her on the 28th. Happy Birthday dear sister!!

Colville Historical Museum

Before too much time slipped away I wanted to go back to our time at the Colville Historical Museum and document what we saw here.

In 1975 the City of Colville entered into an agreement for the Historical Society to manage a piece of property and buildings it had received a decade earlier as a gift from the Keller Family. The terms of the gift is that the house and grounds were to be used as a park and museum. That had not been possible for the City prior to 1975 so the partnership turned out to be a good one.

We made a last minute decision to visit the Museum the last Friday of September and we were pleasantly surprised at the great indoor and outdoor displays and history. The Stevens County Historical Society has done an exceptional job! We had the grounds to ourselves on this afternoon and the museum volunteer treated us to a nice tour of the Keller House while we were there.

We hope to return to the museum next year (they are open from May-September) to take more photos of the Keller Home on the property. You can read about it here. During the Christmas season they decorate the home and have Christmas tours. This year because of COVID they are only decorating the outside of the home and will have live Christmas music drive by tours available.

This is the music room inside the house.

One of the views from the Keller Home.

The history of mining in Stevens County is great and was the lifeblood of the area in the early 20th century.

The exhibit that the Historical Society has developed comes from several of the important mines of the area. It has a 16 foot gallows for lowering a “bucket” into a vertical mine shaft complete with steel bucket. This was powered by a gas engine but the Society will have on display a horse—powered winch too.

This Trapper’s Cabin was moved from the John Lockner property on Gold Creek by members of the Stevens County Historical Society. The main cabin of a trapper was known as the “home cabin”. All of the furs trapped were brought back to the home cabin for stretching and fleshing the skins. A marten or a bear line could easily cover 12 miles. The trapper would cover these lines daily, packing his traps and about 20 lbs. of bait. Bear, marten, lynx, fox, coyote, beaver and other small meat eaters were plentiful for the trappers.

You can read about the farm equipment housed on the grounds here.

The first public schoolhouse built in the city of Colville was originally located on the south side of town, close to the city park. It was later moved to First Avenue and Elm Street, eventually making it’s way to the Keller Heritage Park. It was built in 1874 by local labor, including that of John U. Hofstetter, a leader in civic and educational endeavors.

You can read about the Heritage Park Schoolhouse here.

HOMESTEAD CABIN

Throughout the last half of the nineteenth century and during the early part of this century, small farmstead cabins dotted the countryside in all areas of Stevens County. Attracted by the availability of land, fine climate, a rich volcanic soil and scenic beauty, the early settlers cleared their land to build small hand-hewn log cabins. The farmstead cabin was donated to the Stevens County Historical Society from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

A closeup of the construction of the cabins.

You can read about the Hixson Castles here.

So much history preserved in our little town of Colville. We were impressed with all the well managed and documented information housed on these grounds.

As we drove away from the museum I had to jump out of the car to capture these turkeys sitting on the fence.

The Getty

When Dear and I arrived in Southern California and drove north to Oxnard from the Long Beach airport I took this photo of the Getty museum on the hill close to the Wilshire area of West Los Angeles. Little did I know I would enjoy the museum with our oldest kids, my sister, sister in law and grand niece.

On Tuesday night Josh and Laura asked if I wanted to go along with them to the Getty on Wednesday. My sister Vera had taken the day off so it worked out for all four of us to travel north from Orange County together.

My sister in law, Kelly, nannies her granddaughter Ellie and they joined us at the museum.

As one of my facebook friends said, Josh and Laura make the Getty look good.

Ellie really took to her cousin once removed.

I really enjoyed this painting so I took some close-ups of the bottom and top of the painting.

This painting will be familiar to many. Irises by Vincent van Gogh.

Josh and Ellie enjoying more masterpieces.

One of a few Monet’s at the museum.

Supreme carving skills in this portrait were amazing.

There is so much to enjoy at The Getty so I would encourage multiple trips. Here are links to my other trips to The Getty.

Outdoor

Ruby at the Museum

Blue- The Getty

We enjoyed a meal at a cafe on the grounds with so many great choices. Entrance to the museum is free and you only have to pay to park. J. Paul Getty (1892-1976), was an art collector and businessman who used his fortune to create an institution dedicated to the diffusion of cultural knowledge.

Night at the Museum

On Wednesday night we drove downtown in the rain and wind to Dear’s company Christmas Party which of course they call a Holiday Event. For the next couple months Dear’s company is Dendreon Corporation. They are currently in Chapter 11 proceedings and the company will be auctioned off to the highest bidder on February 4th. In the meantime there are speculations flying around as to what large company might be interested in purchasing Dendreon. Dendreon has a treatment for Prostate Cancer. A very simple explanation about the treatment is that the patient’s own cells are treated to be able to fight the cancer.

We were treated well with good food and drink. There were two signature drinks. Orange for Dendreon and Blue for Provenge, the name of the cancer treatment.

The party was at the MOHAI in Seattle, Museum of History and Industry. It was a great setting for a private event. Some of my favorite displays at the museum were the following.

“It is fitting that the Toe Truck will be included in the museum’s eclectic collection of local memorabilia. Built nearly 25 years ago, the Toe Truck became a local landmark for millions of motorists during the more than two decades it was displayed outside the Lincoln Towing yard at Fairview Avenue North and Mercer Street.”

The Rainier Beer R was a landmark for years just off the Interstate in Seattle. The original 12-foot-high Rainier sign graced the top of the Rainier Brewery from the 1950s until 2000, and now rests restored at MOHAI.

I was happy to see items from my favorite team amongst the museum sport team memorabilia.

When we left and were waiting for our car I snapped some photos of the Space Needle. By this time the rain had stopped. We were very happy the company provided free valet parking for the event, too.

We are choosing joy as we continue to make preparations for the most wonderful time of the year and for all the unknowns of next year!

Getty Museum ~ Blue

It’s time for Mosaic Monday hosted by Mary at Little Red House and Blue Monday hosted by Sally at Smiling Sally.

My mosaics and photos are all from the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California except for one. If you are ever in the L.A. area and have the chance to visit this museum it is well worth it. The museum is free. Parking is $15.00. I will be sharing more photos from the Getty all this week. I’m starting with an outdoor mosaic. I spotted this hummingbird in the sunken garden at the museum.

I’m sure you will recognize the following works of art.

Irises ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Sunrise by Claude Monet

The Bridge over the Water-lily Pond ~ Claude Monet

The Rue Mosnier with Flags ~ Edouard Manet

Dancer Taking a Bow ~ Edgar Degas

My final blue is the pumpkin my daughter and a co-worker created for a no carve pumpkin contest.

Happy November everyone!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Pleasant Valley Historical Society Museum~Botanical Garden

In the City of Camarillo there is a small Museum and Botanical Garden that is only open on Saturdays and Sundays for 4 hours. The facility is staffed by volunteers who are knowledgeable about the history of the area and the artifacts on hand.

The museum is housed in the old water district building and the small garden is behind the building.

There are several glass cases of some of the local Chumash Indian artifacts and other memorabilia from the early days in the Pleasant Valley Area. After a look at all the cases I headed out to the Garden with a challenge from one of the volunteers to try to guess what a green object in the garden was. Well I like a challenge so I was off to have a look.

On the way to find this mysterious green object I stopped to smell the roses…

More pretty flowers along the walkway still looking for the Green mystery item.

This must be the mystery item. I look at it and chuckle because this is not a mystery to me. This is a Still! I’m married to Dear and he has educated me about the Art of Stills. I went back into the museum to let them know I was familiar with the Green Mystery Item. I earned some brownie points for not being stumped! I was then told the history of this Still and how it was donated to the museum by one of the farmers in the area.

“Well, between Scotch and nothin’, I suppose I’d take Scotch. It’s the nearest thing to good moonshine I can find.”
William Faulkner

***I’m headed to a Mad Hatter Tea Shower today instead of a walk so I’m posting my average steps for the week here. I am quite pleased that I’m finally able to walk a little further and that my back is getting better and better everyday. My average steps this week were 7663. Next week I hope to be able to get closer to 10,000 again. We’ll see what my back allows. Have a wonderful Saturday and keep on walking.

Oh and if I’m brave enough I’ll post a photo of myself in my hat!

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

J. Paul Getty Museum ~ Pacific Pallisades

As promised here are more of my photos from the Getty Villa during our Bloggy rendezvous on Monday.

The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa is home to an extensive collection of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities, one of America’s finest holdings of ancient art.

J. Paul Getty purchased the sixty-four acre site in 1945. This is a photo taken in the Outer Peristyle.

In Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building that surrounds a court that may contain an internal garden.

There are Bronze sculptures, replicas of statues found at the Villa dei Papiri.

These columns lead you out to the Outer Peristyle from the Inner Peristyle. The capitals of the Corinthian columns in the Triclinium on the south side of the Inner Peristyle were inspired by the curling acanthus plant.

A View into the Inner Peristyle.

This fountain is located in the East Garden. The colorful fountain with shells and theater masks is a replica of an ancient fountain from the House of the Large Fountain in Pompeii.

A sampling of some of the treasures…

I was in the Men in Antiquity Room and spied this statue in an opposite room divided by an open court. There were two windows between me and the statue. I was intrigued and put the camera on zoom and hoped it would turn out. I was pleased to see it did.

When I made it to the Women and Children of Anitquity this Herculaneum Woman and the other women statues in the room were off limits for photography.

Willow here’s my version of a Monet.. The colors in these lily pads are so beautiful.

Couldn’t leave without a close-up photo of one of the roses on the grounds. This Museum is worth a few trips to see all it has to offer. It is free but you have to make a reservation and request a free ticket for entrance to the estate.