Art 101

Earlier this week our basketball coach asked me to drive the middle school team to a tournament about 40 minutes away.  I rarely drive the bus for another teacher but she was in real trouble and we're friends.  I relented, but it wasn't too difficult to convince me.



Now I agreed with stipulations: I would drive only, not be responsible for kids off the bus, and I would be allowed to grade papers while they played.  I'd planned to grade essay that evening and didn't want to put it off. 



It was too hot to sit on the bus without a/c, so I was going to grade papers in the gym, but the noise and game were very distracting.  I gave that up after the second paper too twice the my normal time for grading.  I decided to beg for an cool area.  (The floor in a hallway if nothing else.)

I got very lucky.  Just outside the gym is the cafeteria and the door was open.  Yay!  Tables, seats and lights.  Plus, once I entered, I discovered the art.  How cool are these three dimensional pieces?

And check out the dream catchers.

Book Review of "Here Lies the Librarian"

Being a librarian is great fun for me.  I really do love my job.  Imagine my reaction when I ran across a book by Richard Peck titled Here Lies the Librarian.  Surely no one would kill off a librarian in book!

Well, that's half right anyway, the librarian in Peck's young adult novel is already dead when we meet Peewee and her brother.  Hum, interesting plot.  What makes it more interesting is that after two years, the city council will finally replace their dead librarian. 


The story is set in the early 1900's when Peewee and Jake hope to become famous as auto mechanics now that the new road is being built right past their house, which Peewee states is "in the weeds."  Enter Irene Ridpath and three of her sorority sisters and let the fun begin. 


You will fall in love with the quirky, down-home characters, their folksy ways and phrases and their first automobiles. 


If you've not had the pleasure of reading one of Peck's many books, let me recommend them all.   I read Here Lies the Librarian in an afternoon and now plan to pick up a copy of The Teacher's Funeral.  

Back to the Rural Life Museum

I really don't have much to post today.  Richard and I spent the morning painting the studio, then I spent the afternoon straightening up the fabric stash.  Both certainly do look much better.  I'm not posting pictures, though, you'll have to wait a few more days before seeing the finished product of all that work.  

Farm wagon for hauling hay or cotton.

I do have some photos, however.  These are from our trip last week to the LSU Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge.  Most of them deal with transportation in some way.  


The museum has everything from wagons to buggies to the first automobiles.  Although there are many more wagons and buggies in the museum, I took photos of the more interesting ones only.  Well, the ones I found most interesting, anyway.

I still have another set of photos and will eventually post those but I make no promises as to when.  My sister from Maryland is coming home in the next day or two and I want to spent time with her this weekend. 


Because her husband is in the military, we don't get to see her nearly as often as we'd like.  In fact, the last visit we had was when Momma died in November, so this is a special visit for us.  I'm excited to see her and spend time with my family.

Hearse with casket inside.

Another very ornate hearse with casket.
That's also a casket under the hearse.  Can you see the glass front?

Woman's side saddle.  She sat with her right leg hooked
on the top pommel and left leg hooked on the lower pommel.
Because both pommels are facing up, I can tell you that this
saddle is not made for jumping.  It would have been used for
pleasure riding or for long distances so long as danger was
not anticipated.

Wouldn't you just love to sit this saddle?  I would like to see how long before I start whining that my legs hurt.  I'm guessing I could handle about five minutes.  Yes, I've ridden a horse before.  In fact, I had my own horse once--Miss Kitty, named after the bar owner in "Gunsmoke."  

English sidesaddle for pleasure riding.  Note that
only one pommel shows.  This one is turned
the opposite way from the previous photo.  The lady still
sat facing the horse with both legs over the horse's left shoulder.

We rode astride, meaning a normal saddle and I loved to run in the pasture.  Otherwise, Miss Kitty was a pretty rough ride.  I imagine that sitting on a side saddle would have been thoroughly miserable on Miss Kitty.  




Know what keeps a lady from falling off one of these saddles?  Herself!  A side saddle made for jumping, running or galloping has the lower pommel turned down.  The rider fits the right leg as she would on this saddle, but the left foot goes into the stirrup and her leg goes under the pommel.  


The pommels are shaped to sort of wrap half way around the leg just above the knee so that when she sits just right, they give her something to hold onto with her legs.  

Very fancy buggy.  Check out the lanterns and the fancy seat.

This is the inside seat of the buggy at right.
It looks quite comfy, considering.  Notice
that the walls and doors are cushioned
and covered in leather.

I'll call this the dashboard of the same
buggy.  It's the inside on the front of the cab.
There are handles, a glass windshield
 and small storage box for papers and such.  

A two seat buggy.  Again, well cushioned with leather seats,
but no protection from the elements.

I'm pretty sure that I've told you everything I know about saddles and riding.  I just hope you made it this far and I didn't bore you away to another blog!


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