Murals that evolve are something new to me. I saw these at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis last weekend. Images appear as you approach, and as you move along the mural, they change. When you reach the other end, they are completely different scenes.
Starting at one end ...
... it changed to this.
Another one ...
... becomes this.
The murals can be seen in the old Sears Art Deco lobby, next to The Rabbit Hole restaurant.
Midtown Global Market, housed in the old Sears & Roebuck Building in Minneapolis, is a fun place to visit. It's a funky, unpretentious bazaar of international food stalls, merchandise, and music.
Saturday afternoon it was full of Minnesotans from all nations, getting out of the house and out of the cold.
It was also full of security and police officers. We didn't find out why until later -- it's only a few miles from the Mall of America which had been targeted by terrorist threats over the weekend.
Happily unaware of that, my daughter and I were in search of freshly made feta cheese and hummus, and dessert.
THE best bakery, Salty Tart. Sarah was contemplating the chocolate cake made with locally brewed Surly beer, the chocolate croissants, the cheese cake.
Just across the way, I was buying some dark chocolate raspberry truffles.
There were critical choices to be made at the olive bar in the Holy Land Grocery.
We looked at some bags for a trip I'm taking in March. These were from Africa. Too deep. Stuff gets lost. Keep looking.
Or how about a shirt so everyone knows I'm a Norwegian Minnesotan? Uff da is a sort of all-purpose exclamation that has been handed down for generations and is still most useful. If you come to Minnesota or go to Norway, you will hear it.
Time for some music
and dessert --chocolate cake, truffles, and a chaser of olives.
We only managed to make it part way through one piece of cake for the two of us. The rest went home with Sarah, for later.
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Over 30 years since we have seen each other, we have been sending old photos back and forth along with some new ones. The old ones make us laugh, make us ponder who we believed we were then and who we now believe we were, seeing backwards with older and wiser eyes and hearts.
I said something rueful about not being as lithe and leggy these days; he wrote back, referring to my "vanity." Teasing, I'm sure but it stung for a moment. Who wants to think of oneself as vain?
I'm still not convinced I am. Isn't vanity the province of those who thinks too highly of themselves? That has certainly never been one of my challenges; in fact, quite the opposite. I never think I'm good enough! Even when, looking backwards, I can see that I was.
Anyway, it got me thinking about body image and age and wisdom and the irony of the old saying about youth being lost on the young.
Also this:
The Church says: The body is a sin.
Science says: The body is a machine.
Advertising says: The body is a business.
The body says: I am a fiesta.
~Eduardo Galeano
And, "Dancers" by Fernando Botero, from a street in Minneapolis.
All in all, that old friend my body has been pretty good to me (although like most my age we have spent a few anxious hours in the break-down lane waiting for the tow truck). I can still walk ten miles and wake up and walk again the next day. I can plant a mean garden with only minor complaints from my back. And, after two surgeries I still have vision in both my eyes, my feet remember how to dance, and I can still hit a whiffle ball out of the ballpark to the appreciative audience of my young grandsons.
That's a fiesta in my book!
Sometimes in the winter here we say we have "the crud". It means a cold, a virus that's miserable but not serious which goes on and on. Anyway, my laptop has The Crud, a virus plus a dying keyboard.
I no longer had a repair guy because the one I used for 20 years, ever since the computer was a big old thing that took up the entire top of a large desk, had closed up shop and left a sign on the door saying he was no longer in business. I wonder if the tattoo parlour moving in next door had anything to do with it.
Luck brought me to Ray who just moved here from New Hampshire and is feeling quite smug that he is in Minnesota and missing all that snow Out East. My laptop's virus has been cured and a new keyboard is enroute and I will have it back Wednesday morning.
My laptop is where all my photos are stored, so I haven't been able to blog much for awhile. I do have this one photo from Winston Churchill's home, Chartwell, west of London in Westerham, Kent, that I will leave you with today. And I'll be back when my laptop comes home!
These little robins were for sale in the garden shop. I wish I had brought one home.
'"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape --
the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter.
Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show."
~Andrew Wyeth, American painter
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Have you ever noticed how those wire coat hangers seem to multiply among the shirts and trousers in your closet? What to do, what to do....
Here's one solution.
When I was in London last fall, exploring the Inns of Court with Marie (http://60andthenext10.blogspot.com), we were wandering the hallways and came upon this sculpture of a happy judge. I suspect it was created by the Scottish artist, David Mach. He is a sculptor and installation artist and he makes things out of "mass-produced objects," everyday stuff like match sticks, car tires, teddy bears, playing cards and wire coat hangers.
This one is made from matchsticks. The photo is from his website where there is a shop, in case you are in the mood to purchase or browse. Click here to see more. You'll be glad you did!
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