Jame, no I am not Dutch- but wanted to be when I was a little girl.  Mackinac Island is a great place - used to go there once a year up until a few years ago.

Sam, Yes -it was a great morning.  I even made my husband an eggs benedict (with fresh homemade hollandais) breakfast in bed.  And I will take your recommendation again and read the book after seeing the play.  Thank you for inspiring and spreading the joy of life!  Inspite of all that we have going on - 2 U.S. warships deployed off the shores of N. Korea and Japan has 2 warships as well, job loss, recession, fraud and corruption - the beauty of the world still pokes through.  

Joan, The Frick,  The Baltimore Museum of Art was a real surprise (not to mention their wonderful cafe Gertrude’s run by a top notch chef) and believe it or not - Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (people from NYC came to see this new museum and it received rave reviews in NY.  MOCAD is by far the most thought provoking, innovative and cutting edge works I have seen  anywhere.  Having an artist son we visit art museums in all of our travels and have enjoyed the main ones of course such as MOMA, The Met, The Getty, London’s many many museums.  But the three I mentioned first are real stand outs.  When we were in London we had a great experience at The Royal Art Academy.  They were having a student exhibition and I fell in love with work from one of the student artists.  After inquiring if she had anything for sale (knowing student’s need money), we were escorted to the stuidos and met the young artist and of course walked out owning one of her pieces.  I will always cherish that privileged behind the scenes experience.  My son also interned at the Hirschhorn Museum in Washington DC and had a fantastic experience learning how to run a museum and curate shows.  Yoko Ono came for a dedication while he was there as well.  At the age of 22, my son has already curated a successful exhibit for Baltimore’s Area 405 Gallery.   I love the new movement going on with site specific works - which complements those who appreciate public art as much as I do. 

Melanie, are you getting hit with the snow?  I can’t believe the blizzard hitting areas that usually don’t get much if any snow.  Now where I am I remember a blizzard in May that shut down our University - way back in the late 70’s.

Raoul Dufy, Miro, - so many

Thomas Hart benton influenced my own painting style, along with E. Hopper.

Jeannot, it is amazing how our bodies changed with pregnancy.  My feet grew also with my pregnancies, too.  The wooden shoes were too big for me when I first got them as a kid.

James, my wooden shoes were from Holland, Michigan 40 years ago at the festival.  What a pretty town. 

When I was in college in art history auditoriums tears would stream down my cheek as I looked at the works of Jan Van Eyck. 

I was so impressed with the overall beauty of the Stanford campus - landscape, architecture and art.  I had to go back and take others with me to see it.  The nondenominational church there is gorgeous.  Love the story of how Harvard rejected the money offered and hence- Stanford was created.   The greatest lesson against elitism and snobbery.

Suzanne that is a great observation & comparison.  Interesting what is says about the cultures.

James,  I still have my wooden Dutch shoes from Holland that I got in the 60’s.  They still fit- I am still the size of a 10 year old I guess.

The Baltimore Museum of Art is a wonderful place - love going there.  It is so inviting to visitors and interactive, but the last time I was there I was scolded more than once for stepping over the lines.  Don’t get the wrong impression, this is one art museum that everyone should see.

Joan, the entire city of Florence, Italy is a museum.  I love that place.

HI Joan,  I want to respond and thank you for your support in previous postings.  Your positive outlook is a blessing in this world.  Thank you for adding to the light.