Friday, February 25, 2011

A Break from the Farm and Lambing

It was Julia's winter vacation this week so we made plans to visit my sister Laurie and her family who live close to Boston. Julia and I both love to spend time with my sisters and their kids. But boy, are the burbs of Boston different from our lives on the farm. It was a trip that was not without a bit of guilt on my part for leaving in the hectic lambing season. On top of it all, The Farmer came down with a vile bug. Luckily, through this blog, we have met Terri who lives in the town next to ours. She is a delivery room nurse and wanted to help us out with lambing. It has been a pleasure to teach her what we do and she and Addie have been a god-send to us during this busy season. Both Terri and Addie helped The Farmer get through his bug and his days alone.


The highlight of my trip (you notice I say "my" not "our") was a visit to the new American Wing at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. This Wing opened in November and I have been dying to see what they built. Many of the paintings that are on display were there before but now they are shown so gorgeously. 

I haven't been to the MFA in quite a while and the thing I noticed most was the number of people walking around looking at their smartphones. It was epidemic. Julia brought her iTouch with her and she took lots of photos. I can't believe how much this statue looks like it is texting!


We ate lunch at one of the new restaurants. It was lovely and we felt like we were on vacation in a foreign land.


And because it is never quite possible for us to get away from the farm and the sheep, we noticed many nods to agriculture and sheep from days gone by. This oil painting which I have yet to find on the MFA website and didn't jot down the name of ......


A Shepherdess and her Flock at Sunset by Jean-Francois Millet. When I looked closely, I could tell she was knitting.


The Belated Kid by William Morris Hunt. This is a beautiful oil painting and although they say it is a goat, it looked like a sheep to me!


And we were really excited to see a floorcloth in the new wing beneath a beautiful table setting. This floorcloth was designed and painted by our friend Lisa Curry Mair of Canvasworks in Perkinsville, VT. 

I'll be back next week with some more farm and sheep related posts. I thank you all for your kind words about our loss of our dear larger than life cat Lily Pons.

7 comments:

Auntie Shan said...

And, you notice how the Statue is also giving Everyone "The HAND"! ;-]

Sarah said...

I can't wait to get down to see the new wing! I worked at the MFA in the American Dec Arts department for a summer internship.

Lindy and Paul said...

I noticed the same thing on a recent art museum trip (lots of smartphones), and also was drawn to the agricultural paintings. Took a beautiful photo of a huge painting of a woman spinning. If you look at the ears in the Belated Kid painting, you can tell they are goats, I don't think any sheep breeds have floppy ears like that. Just sayin'....

Lynn Cohen said...

I enjoyed the walk through the gallery! Loved your comment about the statue texting! too funny.

I am enjoying knitting your Baby Hearts Afghan...I am learning so much. My first attempt at Fair Isle and knitting in the round. I opted not to learn inc back of the loop; and hope it will be okay my way...I plan to make some felted buttons for corners of the squares for baby to pull at; and to cover up some mistakes. I am an imperfect knitter! LOL Thanks for publishing your COLOR book. It's just gorgeous!

Yvonne said...

Just to let you know that I found you thru an old mag I bought at the library...Aug. 2004 Country Home.

twinsetellen said...

Hah! I love the texting statue. I wonder if she is checking a Facebook status or updating her queue on Ravelry.

Lisa Mair said...

Thanks, Kristin! Isn't the new wing fantastic?

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