Thursday April 14 2016  I LOVE SURPRISES!

P.S. AT THE TOP:  OOPS!  I FORGOT TO ADD THE PICTURES BELOW (WHICH MUST BE DONE BEFORE I PUBLISH) AND NOW THEY WILL SHOW UP BEFORE THE BLOG.  DISREGARD ALL COMMENTS REFERRING TO “BELOW”.  KEEP CLICKING THROUGH THE OLDER POST TO REACH BLOG.

What a delightful surprise to be told yesterday that today we would be visiting a traveling display at the Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke.  Carole and Dave, who have lived here for 30 years have never visited the Roanoke Museum, so this was a first for them also.  What excited me so much was the fact that we were going for the purpose to see the traveling display of original art pieces by Norman Rockwell.  Norman Rockwell is one of my favorite artists.  I have never read much about his life so it was an eye opener to learn about his procedure when preparing to paint a scene.  When he started out he actually used real life models who had to hold their poses for long periods of time.  Later he actually photographed what he wanted to paint and used the photos for recall. Norman worked 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and only took Christmas and Thanksgiving off.  Now that is what I call dedicated. 

Rockwell was extremely sensitive to the fact that his scenes depict what he was trying to convey as well as using authentic props for the period.  He was tedious in making certain every detail was accurate.  Dave and I downloaded commentary about the portraits and listened to the details of what he did to prepare for each portrait.  Such an example might be that when he used a waiter in the drawing, he looked for just the right waiter.  The waiter he hired for the train portrait was a veteran waiter of 30 years.  The stories about each piece of art were just amazing.  I am going to include some of my the snapshots I shot today at the end of this blog.  I asked permission to take the photos before I did so and was informed that it was okay to take as many as I would like as long as no flash was used.

Of course I was rushed through the gallery because it takes me so long to absorb all I would like to absorb.  I missed being able to see the original art that covered each of the Saturday Evening Post Magazines.  I was able to see them on the wall, hung in rows, but would have loved more time to do so.  Dave and I came to the conclusion that the magazine covers were not original paintings but the original covers from the magazines.   All I can say is that it was so worth seeing this traveling exhibit.  We were informed that this was its last stop.

I will also post some sights that I took of downtown Roanoke.  It is so beautiful here.  Temps today were in the high 60’s with a bit of a bite in the gentle breeze. 

We are thoroughly enjoying David and Carole and her family.  It is amazing to realize that her family is also our daughter’s biological family.  Rebecca is sister to our son, Courtland as well as sister to Carole’s children, one son and two daughters.  Rebecca has lots of nieces and nephews as I mentioned in a previous blog.  It is awesome to feel like they too are a part of our family.  And oh, I must not forget their awesome dog too!  Sammy is a mix between a Pomeranian and a Pekinese.  Sammy is old and sleeps a lot.  See what Dave and I have to look forward to in a few years (when we are old). 

Early spring abounds in all I see.  Though there is still a frigidness in the air, it has been so refreshing to participate in so many southern springs. 

REFLECTIONS

By Kathleen Martens

April 14, 2016

Thanks to all who have come along

Once again as I journeyed far.

I have found my choice of travel

And that is exploring by car!

So many sights and sounds

To fill me with such delight.

And it is nice to have a tag a long,

So I need never fear the night.

And there are a lot of reasons

That my time with him I lend.

There is no one I’d rather be with

Than my closes friend.

And our numbered days are almost gone

As our journey leads us home.

Where we once again will settle down

To reflect on where we’ve roamed.

Lord today I give You thanks for your continued protection.

Thank You God for the experience of going to the museum.

Thank You for my eyes.

Thank You for such a good sleep last night.

Thank You for birds.

Thank You for tomatoes.

Thank You for bunion remover.

GOOD AFTERNOON.  I PRAY THE REST OF YOUR DAY IS WONDERFUL.