Friday Featured Art: Porch Swing

I really love Joe's new pieces (of course). Porch Swing makes me nostalgic for Missouri and our white farm house and old porch swing. There's something so relaxing about sitting on the porch in the evening - especially when there are fireflies floating about.

Thursday Tunes: Tenebrae

Last Friday it was our privilege to attend a concert at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. It is such a beautiful space. In this picture of the dome, all of the colored space that you see is a mosaic - no paint. The concert was by the choral group Tenebrae from London. They sing a cappella and by candlelight. It was incredible. One of my favorites was the encore number, called The Dying Soldier. Go here to sample it.

The Met: Live in HD

On Saturday, we attended The Met: Live in HD at a movie theater not far from here. What a fascinating concept! The Met Opera broadcasts live performances to movie theaters across the country. During the intermissions, you get to see the scenery changes and hear interviews with the characters. We saw Aida, and it was very good.

Brown County State Park

I mentioned that we went to Nashville, Indiana, a week ago. The town was very fun, but the point of our trip was to stay at Brown County State Park. We like to stay at the cabins near Abe Martin Lodge. It was a beautiful time of year to be there. Fall colors are an amazing gift from Heavenly Father.

Thursday Text: Sense and Sensibility

Last night, I finished reading Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. It was delightful. (I picked up a copy when we were in Winchester.) Here's a quote from Mr. Edward Ferrars:

I wish as well as every body else to be perfectly happy; but like every body else it must be in my own way.

Nature's Emporium Soap Company

Last weekend, we went to Nashville, Indiana. I need to write more about it - it was beautiful and very fun. For today, one of the things I wanted to note is the Nature's Emporium Soap Company. One of the gift shops in Nashville carried their soap. It is lovely. I got a bar of the Pink Moon soap - it's lilac. Tony got a Thunder Moon bar because he said it smelled like the West. Sure enough, it has juniperberry, cedar, and lavender. Yum!

Mercury Glass Lamp

I got the latest Pottery Barn catalog in the mail the other day, and I really love this lamp. I love the flowers and vines etching. I love the patina. It is beautiful (but rather expensive). I bought a small pendant light earlier this summer that has a similar look to it. I'll have to post a picture of it...

Ethan Allen

We finally ordered a sofa for our living room! My old couch has done a great job for 10 years, but it is time for it to be retired. We scoured the area and ended up at Ethan Allen. We had a really great experience there and decided on the Hepburn sofa in the 71" (love seat) size. With the big sale going on right now, we were able to get this beautiful damask fabric. We're hoping that it will arrive before Christmas!

Friday Featured Art: David Tress

I picked up a copy of Cardiff Life magazine when we were in Cardiff. There was an article about an exhibit at the Albany Gallery. I really loved all of the artists that were featured, but I had a hard time locating them online. The gallery is running a new exhibit featuring the work of David Tress. He works in mixed media and depicts local settings in an abstract way. This is a cathedral in Pembrokeshire. I like it.

Thursday Tunes: The Typewriter

The other night, we were listening to the "Pops" station on XM radio. We heard this fun song, called The Typewriter. Here's a version from Germany: