12 January 2010
Not very interesting, I know. More fabric. But, my world is about to be limited to fabrics and trims and patterns and sewing machines. This is another of the fabrics that found its way home with me last week from my fabric safari. Pretty blue stuff is so hard to find.
~MB
11 January 2010
I have been looking forward to today’s “field trip” for weeks! Our dear friend Ronnie, is the Director of Retail Operations for the newly re-opened (and absolutely beautiful) Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. I had wanted to visit when the place first opened, but Ronnie advised me to wait until the kinks were all worked out, and the store shelves were all full. Then, my busy season, followed by the holiday season (kids out of school!) and I decided to wait until things calmed down a little bit. We tried to arrange a day for this a couple of weeks ago, and Ronnie’s schedule changed at the last minute and we postponed. Today was finally the day when I was visiting the museum and getting a personal tour. Woo hoo!
I really cannot say enough good things about what I saw. The facility itself is gorgeous. State of the art and beautiful. Innovative and practical. A mix of exhibits to entertain young and old, mind and body. Bright colours greet you when you walk in the door. The interior of the “lantern” that has become the new landmark and logo for the museum is the warmest, happiest shade of yellow I’ve ever seen. And no matter the time of day, it seems, the sun streaming into the hundreds of skylight windows makes beautiful patterns on the walls. Beyond that vestibule area are giant blocks of other colours—purple, blue, orange, pink. On the other side of one big glass wall is a courtyard painted the same bright blue as the Texas sky and containing the “Liberty Tree” planted by a museum founder’s descendent and somehow miraculously kept alive throughout three years of serious construction all around it. Outside another glass wall is a playground of waterfalls and sprinklers and wading pools. And yet another glass wall allows a peak into the outdoor playground—appropriately named Dino Dig—just for the younger set. The lower floor of the museum houses an amazing “hands-on” wing of activity rooms and learning opportunities. Specially designed rooms and equipment allow for learning about light and shadows, drawing, sculpting, building and “imagineering.” A large area behind a bright pink wall is home to giant tinker toys, a giant pinball machine with moveable bells and obstacles, stations to learn about electricity and wind and stop-motion animation and photography. And yet another large room is known as the “Children’s Museum” where kids can employ their imaginations in hands on themed play areas—gymnastics and dance, a play grocery store or hospital, and the largest Brio train and city set I’ve ever seen assembled! Another wing houses an elaborate exhibit introducing children to dinosaurs, and the “Energy Blast” exhibit, complete with a 50,000 pound seismic vibroseis truck the building had to be built around! An interactive video game allows you to “drive” the truck and feel the pounding under your feet. The interactive displays about energy in all its different forms, and how technology transforms our natural resources into power are fun for all ages.
The Omni Theatre with it’s IMAX dome and 3-D films is still down another hallway, but that was for another day. Upstairs is the Noble Planetarium, also completely newly rebuilt. (Imagine! They had to store that big beautiful planetarium dome, while the old building was demolished and the new one built and made ready!) Unfortunately, today wasn’t long enough for me to enjoy the Planetarium, either. (Did you know Charlie Noble was a woman?—the first woman ever to have a planetarium named for her!) But, I did enjoy the huge CSI exhibit! Done in conjunction with the CBS TV show folks and not for the too-young or faint-at-heart, this adult-oriented exhibit reconstructs three different life-size crime scenes and we, the new CSI on the job, choose one, search the scene for clues, and solve the crime, complete with computer analysis, teaching videos performed by TV personality cast members, and a great three-dimensional representation of the autopsy!
Perhaps my favourite exhibit of all was the one in the Fort Worth Gallery of History. “Let’s Take the Streetcar” is a delightful ride through the history of Fort Worth and how its public transportation helped it grow. Sadly, of course, thanks to the petroleum and auto manufacturing industries, the trolleys were replaced by buses and are a thing of the past. But, this exhibit really succeeds at making old Fort Worth come alive with its maps, photographs, vintage clothing displays, a lovely, if not quite to scale diorama, and a life-size replica of a trolley car with a moving wall behind it. For me, the glimpses of the wonderful little city of Fort Worth in its hey-day of meat-packing plants and summer resorts was the perfect touch of local history. Other beautiful exhibits included a small one dealing with the Native American history of the area, and a large, very interactive exhibit on the cattle industry in Texas. In fact, in case you were wondering where it went, the FWM is now the home of the Texas Cattle Raisers Museum—the museum within the museum—where a classy presentation of art and sculpture, and an amazing array of past members’ ten gallon hats and other personal effects was a charming way to further get in touch with the history of Fort Worth.
My personalized tour started and ended with a visit to the beautiful gift shop “Shop, Too!” for which Ronnie is responsible. With product lines of clothing and jewelry, games and gadgets, fossils and rocks, hundreds of wonderful books and toys for all ages, including a “stuff your own” plush department, it is hard to imagine anybody leaving without a sack full of something! And, for the mini museum patrons and shoppers, in the middle of the store is a slide designed after a stegosaurus. Dubbed “Bumpersaurus,” this 12-foot sculpture made of recycled items such as headlights, hub caps, rear-view mirrors, license plates and bumper cars is a treat to the eyes and I can only imagine it’s a fun ride down, as well! And since “imagine” seems to be the key word at Fort Worth’s newest museum—and since I’m actually too tall for this for a change!—my imagination will have to suffice!
~MB
10 January 2010
After staying in on Saturday, Kyle and I were ready for a Sunday outing. We were hungry, and looking for something out of the ordinary. We landed our search at a little place in the Arlington Highlands called Freebirds World Burrito. We were immediately charmed by the groovy decor, and ultimately very happy with our burrito bowl meals. And, they serve beer. Win/win! Music videos on a giant screen, almost Disney-worthy build-out and decor of the small space. I made the observation, that this would be the perfect eatery to combine forces with and be available within the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cincinnatti. (What they offer there now is a very sub-standard “cafeteria” line with shrink-wrapped sandwiches and microwaved meals prepared who knows how long ago.) Freebirds has the groovy/music/Lennon/motorcycle theme already built in! It’s a perfect match!
My one disappointment: that despite earth-friendly messages painted on the ceiling, recycling my beer bottle, rather than tossing it in the trash, was not an option. Sigh.
~MB
9 January 2010
End of the day = no pictures. So, once again, the myriad of cool stuff in our home to the rescue! This is a shot of some of the fun metal belts I have hanging on the back of our bedroom door.
~MB
8 January 2010
This pair of shoes has seen far too little use in recent months . . . okay, years. This is my last remaining pair of tap shoes that still fits my feet. That’s part of the ongoing frustration of my little feet getting bigger and my size 5-1/2 and 6 shoes being culled from my collection. But, I digress.
I pulled my tap shoes out of hiding, and grabbed a pair of leg warmers (it’s cold outside this week!) and headed to Ginger’s house for a girly brunch with Sherrie and Ginger and a long-overdue tap class with Ginger after that. The brunch was delightful and we had a really good time catching up with each other—neither Ginger nor I had seen Sherrie since TRF. (She came down with a nasty flu bug and couldn’t attend Dickens.) The sun was nearly gone from the sky when we said goodbye to Sherrie and finally donned our tap shoes.
We had done this tap class thing a few times back in . . . 2007 . . . 2008? I don’t remember how long it had been, but I know it had been too long!
How I love to tap. My “Estelle and Alfonso” days come back to me quickly when I start to tap dance. It takes only moments for me to be back in “The Gold Room” of the studio on Cannon Street in Poughkeepsie, New York. Being downstairs, it is the preferred room for tap classes. I can see the giant wooden balls we would sometimes balance and walk or even dance on in one corner, and the then state of the art phonograph in the other. Mirrors on the front wall, ballet barres on the others. First I see an old tile floor, and then I remember that with a studio remodel in the mid-seventies, came a brand new dance floor surface in a dull grey colour. Alfonso’s conga drum stands in the corner near the phonograph, where he could beat out the counts of a routine. Up the back staircase, when the music stops, you can hear another teacher in “The Blue Room” teaching an acrobatics class.
On the wall in the hallway are the “star charts”—the large hand-written grid paper charts used to mark our progress in various classes. Student names are listed down the left side and skills and/or routine names are listed across the top. When we prove our proficiency, the date (originally a star) is placed in the appropriate square between our name and that skill or routine. What a thrill it is to get to follow Estelle or Al to that wall after class and watch them add a new date to the chart next to your name.
[shaking myself out of the reverie] It is those memories I channel when I attempt to pass along some of my knowledge and skill to Ginger. It’s been a long time since I did any formal teaching, and this session today once again reminded me how I miss not only the dancing, but the teaching as well. Thank you, Ginger, for allowing me this opportunity! What a fun time we had. I was tired after only a few minutes, but it was a good tired! We ended up dancing for nearly two hours and working up the first part of a cute little routine! Ginger is a great student—she catches on quickly, and listens well to my suggestions. What a great way to spend a couple of hours on a cold Friday afternoon!
Too much time passed between the last time and this time . . . but it won’t be like that in the future! [having a Gene Kelly moment] Gotta Dance!!
~MB
7 January 2010
We are having quite the cold snap for North Texas! I’m not sure when I’ve seen temperatures in the teens and twenties here. I love winter and snow and dressing in layers, but today even I opted to stay in, rather than bundle up to go out. And heaven knows I’ve got plenty here to keep me busy! My photo today: one of the pretty pieces of fabric I hunted and killed on my fabric safari yesterday.
~MB
6 January 2010
First Fabric Safari of 2010. It was a long day, but rewarding. The first part of it I spent with Starr and Joe shopping for fabric, and that was super fun. We had a great time. They continued their day with a romantic lunch and a movie, while I did round two of the safari, and finally headed home around four o’clock.
On a whim, or perhaps because he felt my Tex Mex craving from afar, my husband treated me to dinner.
I had worked hard for my trip to Mexican Inn. And my hot sauce just seemed the perfect camera target.
~MB
5 January 2010
The Twelfth Day of Christmas—Twelfth Night
As I looked at my hair in a braid this morning, I thought it was kind of neat, especially with the other purples in my view—my little tank top strap and the elastic holding the braid. So, I snatched up my camera and took this shot in the mirror—my only one of the day. My streak of purple hair—I love it!
So, with purple in my hair, as well as in my heart, I bid the Yule (and the college football) season farewell. A Merry Twelfth Night to all.
~MB
~MB
4 January 2010
Rif Ram Bah Zoo! Lickety Lickety Zoo Zoo! Oooh Wah Wah Oooh! Give ‘em Hell, TCU!
Yep! That’s me! And those are my hands wearing the world’s silliest gloves! Which proves, of course, that I’m cheating—I did not shoot this photo although it was shot with my camera. I did shoot others, including this one of the purple paraphenalia on our table, so I fulfilled my commitment to the KRuMB. But, this photo of me was so silly, I just had to share it. Thanks, Kara!
It was a big day for TCU fans. TCU was taking the field in a big bowl game. I’d been looking forward to this for . . . oh . . . thirty years or so! I bought shirts for us to wear, and little spirit poms to shake, and wore purple for days (my thanks again, to my Bristol staff for this amazing Tibetan lamb scarf that is the perfect shade of purple!). I made a pilgrimage to the TCU neighbourhood and visited the bookstore on game day where that fabulous scarf got me noticed by a news crew! Apparently I was on TV, although I’ve only heard about it, I didn’t get to see it. And, in a self-indulgent moment, I decided to redye my little streak of hair—this time all purple! I did a couple of other errands while I was out, including getting camp chairs we’d need for our game watching party. We were headed to the Rahr Brewery!
Our readers will know by now that we go there a lot. If we have a free Saturday, we’re there. And lately, we’ve fallen in love with their Wednesday night events, too. But, this was special—Monday night at the brewery owned by Horned Frog alum Fritz Rahr! An amazing turnout of what had to be three to four hundred people made for an exciting environment for watching the big game. The price was right—$15 paid for the best burger I’ve had in years, from the folks at Kincaid’s, and all the beer we could drink. Bryan and his sister, Angie were there with us, as was Kara, James (a nice surprise opportunity to see him one more time before he goes back to Korea) and Ken and Denise! Everybody wore purple (I helped with that!) and we had a blast!
Unfortunately, the Horned Frogs lost to Boise State, 10-17. They didn’t play up to par, in my opinion—be it nerves or noise, or newness to the big time—and they just got outplayed. It was a disappointment, but, really . . . undefeated up to that point . . . not too shabby! I’m mighty proud of my alma mater. And, oh my gosh we had a great time at the Rahr! Thanks, Fritz!
Go Frogs! Coach Patterson has six more years to take his team—our team—all the way!
~MB
3 January 2010
After the busy day of being social that we had yesterday, today was a much-needed day of nothing. Decompression. Possibly our last nothing-day for a while. Kyle is coming up on some serious “overtime” for AA and I am into my heavy sewing season. Not to mention weekends to be spent at faire working on booths and such. We went nowhere. We did almost nothing. We drank mostly coffee. And we burrowed under warm blankets and quilts while watching TV. My photo is of the crazy quilt I made a number of years ago that kept me warm while doing nothing.
~MB
