Wishes for the new year...

May 2010 bring hope, opportunity, joy, and love to you all.

Goodbye, Tree

We saw this during a walk in the n'hood. There are lots of old trees here, and they become like big familiar friends. You really miss them when they're gone.

Hopefully these folks will plant a new tree in 2010, perhaps as one their New Year resolutions...

All together now

This reminds me of those paper cutout dolls. Or a "people connected around the world" design. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were more positive and peaceful connections between people around the world in 2010?


One can still hope...

A little magic is welcome

...especially this time of year.

Have warm and happy holidays.

Ornamentation

Even a bare tree can become festive.

The Starburst

And one more just for the ride...

Some real swingers

More carnival rides...step right up!

Tea time?

While shopping downtown this weekend, we came across a carnival...

On a cold December morning

with a crisp crescent moon

In the pink

Twilight sky not that long ago, before the snow and rain came.

Let there be lights

It's been dark and stormy all day, so here are a few festive lights to brighten things up.




As seen from a drive-through of the Country Club Plaza , Kansas City on one of the busiest nights of the year.

Dawn

Another workday begins in the City of Trees.

Projecting the Guggenheim

Since it was a snowy day out, we decided to try a little indoor construction project.


Yes, we had two pieces left over. They left out two we needed and gave us two that didn't fit. But we persevered; sometimes you can get things to work even if you don't have all the pieces.


Here's the Guggenheim at night, perhaps during the opening for the retrospective of Vasily Kandinsky.


And here's the museum celebrating the holidays with a giant evergreen from Vermont. Amazing what they can do with plant hybridization these days...

http://www.guggenheim.org/

Ice & a good samaritan

About 20 degrees colder than usual for Boise during the winter. Right now, it's 13, which is better than the 1degree temp we had this morning, but still too cold! But I see on the national weather map that a front is headed our way which is supposed to warm things up.

According to the local paper, a man who came upon two large dogs struggling in a pond tied a rope around his waist, and while his friend held on, waded in the frigid water and rescued them. The dogs had gotten loose from their homes and apparently broken through the ice while walking across the pond. Help had been called for and as soon as officials arrived, the man got into a car and left. The dogs were treated at the local Humane Society for hypothermia, and are now back with their owners. The man did not leave his name.

Ruminating on weather

The arboretum near Overland Park, KS the last week of November -- when it was 62 degrees and a beautiful day for sitting in the sun by the lake after wandering around the trails.


It's nice to remember that unusually warm fall day, since it's currently only 11 degrees F here in Boise and 8 degrees in KC.

Yesterday morning, when it was around 2 degrees, a 10 year old boy was found with his tongue stuck to a metal pole. A woman driving by noticed him standing there alone and figured out what had happened. She called 911 and some friendly firemen with cups of hot water came to free him. He had been walking to school with friends......you can figure out the rest of the story.

Ah, c'est la vie, especially when it comes to le temps.

Coming in for a landing?

Here is another sight we came upon during our trip while visiting an arboretum.

Why be limited to hopping and swimming?

Good day for snow people

Here's a happy snow family celebrating the first major snow of the year in the City of Trees.

Currently, it's 2 degrees F outside with tomorrow's high being about 20 -- the snow is forecast to stick around all week.

Not the Nutcracker...

...but perfect for the season: A Pantry Ballet (for Jacques Offenbach) by Joseph Cornell. Wouldn't you rather dance with a lobster than a Sugar Plum Fairy??

Artful experience -- 2

Interior shots of the Bloch addition of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.



I love interplay of the levels...


and the light.

Artful experience

Along with having a great Thanksgiving dinner with my family, we also went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.


The museum first opened in 1933. A crowd of 8,000 waited in line to see this new building and its treasures of art.


Badminton, anyone? "Shuttlecock," by Claes Oldenburg on the front lawn.


A new addition, the Bloch Building, opened in 2007. Designed by Steven Holl Architects, the structure is made of glass "lenses" which glow in the light. This is the intersection between old and new.

I'll post photos tomorrow of the interior of the Bloch Building with its amazing light.

Another perspective

We flew to the Midwest for Thanksgiving. Here's a "quilt" of fields with a winding lake. I wonder if it's a river that has been dammed?



Setting the table Thanksgiving morning.



We did more than eat during our trip. I'll share more photos with you tomorrow.