Happy National Tolkien Reading Day

Today, the 25th of March, and every 25th of March since 2003, has been declared National Tolkien Reading Day.  In Tolkien's grand epic, The Lord of the Rings, this date is an auspicious day.  Frodo casts the ring into the fires of Mount Doom, the dark tower of Barad-dûr falls, and the evil Lord Sauron is defeated forever.

In honor of this fairly recently instated holiday, here is one of my favorite songs from The Fellowship of the Ring.

(photo collected from tolkiengateway)

City of the North

A week from yesterday Mom and I will board a plane headed north to Canada!!  In thinking about the future, I've realized that while I am settled here in St. Louis for right now, I don't necessarily want to stay here forever.  I've always had a dream of one day living in Paris, or somewhere abroad, but have never worked towards that for two reasons.  One, it's so far away!  No long weekends back home if it's an expensive eight hour flight each way.  Two, I don't have someone to move there with.  I know myself and I know that it takes me a long time to make friends.  That, combined with the language barrier (I do speak basic French, but am by no means even close to fluent), would make for a lonely lifestyle.

Enter Montreal.  It is the second largest French-speaking city in the world, it has a lot of very old architecture and character, and it's a much more feasible distance from home.  Also, how cool would it be to live in Canada?!

I told Mom of this potential future living location and, travel agent that she is, she hopped online and booked us a couple flights to go check it out over her spring break.  Excited to cross off another country with my favorite travel buddy!

(photos collected from instagram.com/best_montreal_photos via instagram.com/kgtones, instagram.com/best_montreal_photos via instagram.com/karl_gendron, instagram.com/best_montreal_photos via instagram.com/mtlthroughthelens, and by e.hunt)

Down Nashville Way

A little over a month ago I traveled down to Nashville to hang out with Andrew and Juliana for a couple days.  I've never been to see them by myself and since I was deathly ill when they were up for the holidays we figured it was good timing.  I got there Friday evening and we had a low-key night of homemade pizzas, beer, and perusing their Japan pics that I missed at home due to my previously mentioned malady.

The next day we went to one of my favorite coffeeshops, Ugly Mugs, for a morning wake-up cup of goodness and then Andrew and I went to the Mecca of used bookstores, McKay's.  After a couple hours and a stack of books each, we returned home to some downtime before going to The Frist Art Museum.

We really hit the jackpot on lovely skies that weekend.  Anyway, The Frist had this Impressionism exhibit going on that we all wanted to see, and it was definitely worth it.

The first room was a mix of the Impressionist exhibit and the British Sporting Art one that was right next door.  This green-tone Degas, At the Races: Before the Start, 1885, immediately caught my eye.  While clearly a Degas, it is a little looser than his ballet scenes, and interesting that there is so much grass.  Most of his paintings depict interior spaces, so the outdoor lighting and colors are a nice change of pace.

This streetscape, Street in Sannois, by Maurice Utrillo, 1911, is a geometric and pastel-colored wonder.  The precise lines are set off by the textured paint, which Utrillo often mixed with cement, plaster, and glue for a more earthy and natural look.

On the opposite wall there was this Fauve-like piece, The Pont de Grenelle and the Eiffel Tower, by Pierre Bonnard, 1912.  The colors are vivid, but slightly translucent (especially the yellows in the foreground - that strange car!), giving it a sort of cartoon quality.  It is interesting, and an uncommon portrayal of la Tour Eiffel.

And it wouldn't be an Impressionism exhibit without a Monet.  This particular one, Field of Poppies, Giverny, 1885, is a serene summer scene, horizontally serrated by a striking field of red poppies.  I like the large subject matter, how the landscape keeps going from foreground to middle to background to sky.

This next painting, The Seine at Bas-Moudon, by Johan Barthold Jongkind, 1865, seemed familiar.  That lone tree sticking up on the left, disrupting the natural horizon line of the scene was definitely something I had noticed in another painting in another museum sometime in the past.  And it was!  Taylor and I saw a similar Jongkind, the same view actually, at The Altes Museum in Berlin in 2016.

The next painting of note was this lovely snow scene, The Watering Pond at Marly with Hoarfrost, by Alfred Sisley, 1876.  The blue, white, and pink splotches convey the dreary day that cleared up for a bit of evening sun well, and I love how the subdued busyness of the street is offset by the vast, blue sky.

At this point we had made it back around to the front room, where this detailed painting was waiting for us.  It is titled Return From the Race Course, by Alfred de Dreux, 1842.  I love the stark, flat colors against the looming sky, and the motion of the wind pushing everyone back.  I also like the amount of detail that went into the man's clothing and determined look.

At this point we had just enough time before closing time to make a quick round through the Sportsman exhibit.  There were some interesting pieces, but this series, Shooting in the Four Seasons of the Year, by Dean Wolstenholme the Younger, 1850, is the one that stood out to me.  Each painting depicts the sport in a different part of the year.  In Spring and Summer, it is a more social event, while in Fall and Winter it is just the men and their dogs.

After that we packed up and headed to the opposite end of Broadway to make our dinner reservation.  Look at this grand sight greeting us once we stepped outside!

Andrew and Juliana thought it would be fun to continue the French theme of the exhibit with a little French food!  This particular restaurant recently opened for business and they were curious to try it.  We walked up to a cute little cafe area outside (which will be quite lovely in the warmer months), and a cool, art nouveau-like interior.

We were seated at a nice corner booth and ordered up some cocktails and delicious-sounding plates.  Everything was très bien, and after dinner, it was early enough to catch a movie at the Belcourt Theater to round out our day of culture.  We saw The Favourite (2018), which was quite a film.  The next morning I got on the road following one last coffee excursion.  It was a lovely visit, filled with interesting activities and fun times hanging out with Andrew and Juliana.  Thanks for being such great hosts!

(photos by e.hunt)

The Chance of the Last Frost

We had a good snow last weekend, might have been the last snow of the year.  I worked in the morning, of course, but got a good snowy pic from the back door view.

And later that night I ventured home for Sunday night dinner where I went up to the third floor to catch the sunset over the snow-covered skyline.

In the backyard we found some strange tracks dotting the smooth sheet of snow.

Are they from a bunny?  A squirrel?  Some weird mutant animal with three feet that gives it the capability to jump ten+ feet at a time?  Yea, I think it's that one.

(photos by e.hunt)