Bad Day in the Shell Studio

Well, so far working with my latest batch of shells… After settling on three arrangements on three backing pieces…all three backing pieces BROKE during the drilling of the holes. Since each pendant is a one-of-a-kind that means those three pendants are now history and will not be completed–they were designed to fit that particular backing piece. (I think I will do something else for a little bit before I go back to drilling holes in more shells!)

A Visit to the Brooks Art Museum

I thoroughly enjoyed going to the Brooks Art Museum in Memphis today. We went especially to see the exhibit of William Christenberry’s photographs. They were all taken in Alabama around the area where he was born. There was also a very interesting movie about him that we watched. That made viewing his photographs even more enjoyable.

Clover Luck!

This month of May started with me finding three four-leaf clovers in two days at home. Yesterday coming back from Memphis I stopped at Mammoth Springs, Arkansas, to give the dog a chance to do what dogs need to do. I found a total of five four-leaf clovers before we got back in the car and left. This morning I found one more! This must be a good omen for a good decade.

No Wells in Amsterdam?

Were there really no wells in Amsterdam in the late 1600s?  While researching material for my book about Maria Sybilla Merian I realized that not once had I come across any reference to wells.  Nothing was mentioned in the books I read.  I had not seen any marked on old maps of the city.  Oh there was plenty of water with all of those canals, but I suspected that the canal water was salty since they did connect with the sea.  So where did the residents of Amsterdam get their drinking water?  Who could I ask?

I finally emailed the information desk of the Amsterdam Historical Museum with my question.  Frans Oehlen answered.  He answered my question and provided even more information.
As I thought, canal water was salty.  It was also polluted.  But it was used for washing, and for cleaning doorsteps.
Some people used rainwater collected in wooden rain barrels for their drinking water.  But there was not always enough.
The best water for drinking was brought into Amsterdam by water barges.  These barges brought water from the Amstel River (upstream), the Gein River, and especially from the Vecht River.  This water was for sale, though, and not everyone could afford it.  Also during the winter it could be a serious problem to keep the rivers navigable when they became frozen over.  (Ice cutters probably had a good seasonal business then.)
I had never given a thought to the possibility that people ever might have to buy water back then.  In fact I assumed that buying water was a more modern phenomenon.  I knew from traveling when I was a child that the taste of local water in various places could be quite different, but nobody ever bought and took water with them anywhere.  Only fairly recently has buying bottles and jugs of water become an option…at least in my area of the world. 

Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt

Last weekend in Columbia, MO, I tried Tiger Ice Cream at MU. It was quite tasty and the scoops were the biggest I’ve seen in awhile.
Last night we went to Andy’s where I had my favorite––a concrete with raspberry topping (which means the topping is all mixed in). Delicious.
But my all time favorite is the ice cream I had in the little town of Wilster, Germany, at the Eiscafe Rialto across from the church. It was a dish called Spaghetti Ice Cream; looked like real spaghetti with tomato sauce! Tasted fantastic! I loved the combination of looks and taste. And if I’m ever back in Hamburg, I will definitely take the train to Wilster for more ice cream at the Eiscafe Rialto.

Researching Amsterdam

I have taken Maria Sybilla Merian and her family from Frankfurt, Germany, where she was born to Nürnberg, back to Frankfurt, on to Castle Waltha in Friesland, northern Holland and now to Amsterdam.

This part feels different to me because I have not yet been to Amsterdam; I haven't seen it, I haven't walked the streets myself where she would have walked.  By far, the best source for obtaining a bit of this feel is the DK Eyewitness Travel Amsterdam guidebook!  It has given me new directions to pursue as well as showing in brilliant color what is there.
But I would still love to actually go to Amsterdam myself.  I want to see for myself what streets are like with canals running down the center.  I want to see the old house placques, the gabled houses, the "yawners" that used to be over the pharmacies, the skinny bridge.   I'd like to know how long it takes to walk the length of the Prinsengracht, what the Hortus Medicus looks like, etc., etc
I do hope that my readers cannot tell from my writing what feels so different to me.

Bat Column in Chicago

BatColumnWhile in Chicago I also wanted to find the Bat Column, a steel and aluminum sculpture designed by Claes Oldenburg.  It is on the grounds of the Social Security Building on West Madison Street.  My friends and I walked down Madison Street, keeping an eye out for this column.  Unknown to me, my friends thought it was something else and were looking for another kind of bat column.  They were quite surprised to discover the sculpture was a baseball bat instead of a column of bats–the flying kind!

I always enjoy Claes Oldenburg’s gigantic sculptures of ordinary things. : )

Entering the old City of Nürnberg

OutsideWallDoorInsideTheWallEnterCity
This is one of the more interesting entrances to the old city.  It curves inside the wall and is more like a tunnel.  You can see the curve in the middle photo.  The third photo shows the exit into the city, but it also gives a feel of how dark it would have been without lights.
Most of the old German cities have only a small section of their old wall remaining, due to the horrific bombing of World War II.  Some tore down remaining walls because the openings were too small to allow fire trucks into the old section, or they felt they needed to widen the streets for modern traffic.  I'm so glad that Nürnberg did not do this; being enclosed within a city wall is the only way you can get a feel for the size both of the city and the thickness and height of the wall.  It emphasizes the fact that everything is within walking distance, and helps give a feel to life "back then."
I was awed to think that both Albrecht Dürer and Maria Sylabilla Merian walked this town and through this entrance.