Karen at Fifty Four

I had a free Saturday afternoon so I thought it would be the perfect time to visit a new art museum in Orlando (new to me, that is), the Mennello Museum of American Art. It was a very small art museum, only six galleries, and two of those were actually just hallways with a few paintings hung. But is was nice, none the less. They even had a sculpture garden on the property. That was also small, I think I counted less than a dozen sculptures, but the grounds were nice and it had the benefit of a lake as the back drop. Every time I go to a museum I like to select my all time favorite of the trip. This time it was Newell Convers Wyeth's Buttonwood Farm , 1920, oil on canvas. The colors and the contrast don't come through on the photo as they do when viewing it in person. The blues and the greens immediately attracted me. Many of the American landscapes in that gallery were of the west and were quite dark. This one called to me. The Buttonwood farm, it turns out, is a real place. It...

I haven't done too much to blog about these last few weeks. I did get out on my bike a few times around Lake Nona. I love the open fields with cows, but know this will end in the not too distant future. They already have plans to build a giant shopping mall with a Target and other chain stores and restaurants, plus the housing developments are out of control. I have to remind myself to enjoy the open spaces while they last and take solace in knowing that I will not be retiring here. I'm longing for the country and cooler temperatures. I think it hits me the hardest in October because I love fall with the changing leaves and its promise of winter and the holidays soon to come. Hard to get into the spirit in Florida when your sipping a pumpkin spiced ICED latte because its still in the 90's and we are considering ourselves lucky if we get a morning that starts out below 80. 

Outstanding performance by Ringo Starr & His All Star Band!! Unfortunately Debbie injured her wrist and was unable to attend... which was fortunate for me because I got to be the stand in 😊 The concert tickets were Donna's birthday present from Dad. I know they loved the show, as did Dad and I.  Ringo's band consisted of  musical talent I wouldn't have known by their individual names, but I knew the bands they were a part of. Here we have Edgar Winter on keyboard (his all-time hit was Frankenstein), Colin Hay on guitar (from the band Down Under, with hit song Who Can it Be Now), Steve Lukather (from the band Toto, with the song Africa), Warren Ham (from the band Men at Work, with the song Overkill), Gregg Bissonette (on drums... not sure what band he comes from or if he is just a drummer that pops in and out of others bands, but I do know he was impressive), and Hamish Stuart (from the band Average White Band, which I didn't know, but that's ok, I still enjoyed...

FFW is 50 years old! I popped into the party for dinner and a toast, but did not stay long. I was amazed at how many people I did not know. Social occasions such as this make me uncomfortable, especially attending alone. Oh well, I found El and got a silly picture to prove I was there. 

 Another year has pasted and I attended my second Girls in Aviation Day event. It was a great event and a great cause, but the hands-on activity with the simulator was super stressful. I think we probably scared girls away from the ATC profession, rather than sparking any interest!!!

Jen and I went to Leah's new school, USF, St Pete, for a talk about the illustrations of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Wow, great talk and great looking school! I sure hope Leah learns to love it and appreciates how lucky she is to be getting an education at such a wonderful place.

 These are just the collection of shots from mine, Gerald's, and Miki's phones. Great time with family!