Sorry for the lack of posting lately.  A few weeks ago, I was having bursts of creative thoughts at all times of the day and night.  My mind was on overload and I spent a good part of every day searching for paper on which to write my amazing ideas.

So then I bought a cute little idea journal- a place where I could write and store and keep all these ideas.

I was oh-so excited to start filling it.  But then my good friend irony paid a visit (or at least I think it’s irony.  I always thought I understood the definition of irony, but on the TV show Castle, the character Castle frequently bemoans the general public’s lack of understanding when it comes to the definition of irony.) and my idea notebook has sat empty for weeks.

But here’s an idea:  Don’t you love this shirt?

My uber creative sister in law, Raquel, concocted it from her brain and scraps of material.  I should take a closer picture so you can really see how cute it is.  (But I probably won’t.  Along with my lack of ideas, I’m kind of lazy these days.)  Would you pay for a shirt like this?  Cuz I would.  And I think Raquel should be selling these.

I have managed to get a few things written, if you’re interested.  This week, on www.alwayssomethingtotalkabout.com, we’re talking about working moms, work at home moms and stay at home moms.  I shared my frustrating experiences of being a work at home mom and tried to find some positives.

Also, check out my take on the Chase Home Museum at Visit Salt Lake.  You can read my post here.  It’s a delightful museum that more people should know about.  Plus, they do free outdoor concerts every Monday during the summer.  Next Monday is a Scottish group.  We’ll be there, for sure, being the crazy bagpipe lovers that we are.  (Once, in a student apartment, a guy was out practicing his bagpipe on his balcony.  I now realize that was probably a little bit strange for him to do, but I was like a bug to light, I tell you.  I ran over to watch and very nearly went up to his apartment to ask him out on a date.  I am a tidge shy, though, so the date never materialized.  No regrets.  I have the man I want and need- even if he completely lacks any form of bagpipe ability.)

‘Twas a lovely day yesterday.  March 3rd normally is.  That’s because March 3rd is my birthday.

My handsome hubby took a half day off so he could spend the morning with me.  The night before, he presented me with many well researched options for our morning together, and I chose to go to Brigham Young University’s Museum of Art.

Oh, how I miss that museum.  When I attended BYU, I would stop in many times a week to see if my favorite paintings were still there.  As an Art History major, I even had classes in the lovely place.  I volunteered at the museum and later, when I worked for BYU’s anthropology museum (The Museum of Peoples and Cultures), I got to spend hours in the art museum’s basement playing with…I mean…carefully handling anthropological objects that were housed there.

Getting lost in a museum is one of my favorite things to do and I so want my daughter to appreciate art and museums.

Going to museums or art galleries with a toddler can be tricky.  But if you do it right, you can really have a good time with your child.  When Lydia was just a few months old, I wrote a post for Vanessa at I Never Grew Up about visiting museums with children SUCCESSFULLY!  You can read it here.  Since Lydia was still a wee baby when I wrote it, my tips were based on how I WOULD do a museum with a child.  Now that Lydia is a very active toddler, I find that my tips hold true. 

We had a great day yesterday, mainly because we involved Lydia.  We held her at the paintings’ levels and talked about things that would interest her- animals, babies, colors, shapes.  We helped her relate to beautiful landscapes by asking if she thought they were pretty and if she would like to go there.  She even let me tell her stories about the backgrounds of a few paintings.  When she got bored, we moved on, circling back later if we missed something we wanted to see.

The cutest thing was when Ryan took her into another room while I lingered at a painting.  When I joined them, she hopped, jumped and ran (whoops) to different sculptures and paintings, proudly telling me what they were about.  “That’s Mary.  That’s Baby Jesus.  That’s donkey.  That’s red and that one’s red too!  Look!  Kitty!”  It seems Ryan had already given her a lesson- and it stuck.

Of course, she got antsy.  Fortunately, it happened towards the end of our visit, so we were happy we had seen our favorite exhibits first.  That may be my best piece of advice- go directly to what YOU want to see!

I’m curious: do you take your children to museums?  Do you enjoy museums yourself?

Marinda was my great great great grandmother.  She was born in Denmark, and at the age of 9, her family heard the Mormon missionaries, believed what was preached, and joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The state religion of Denmark was Lutheran, and it was hard for people to accept those with a new religion.  Because of their new belief, Marinda’s family (and all the other people who had joined the Mormon church) were persecuted, much like the Mormons in America- with mobbings, beatings, tar and featherings, and more. 

Marinda’s family decided to move to America to join the rest of the Mormons heading west (who were also escaping persecution in Illinois).  Marinda’s family was lucky enough to be able to sell their house before they left.  Other Mormons were not able to sell their houses, and instead watched their neighbors move in, steal their furniture, and get nice and comfy while they set out on their long journey- leaving behind everything they had ever known.

This was what their beautiful village looked like  (I stole this picture from my mom, who recently travelled to Denmark).  How hard to leave that behind and move on to unknowns!

Marinda lost three sisters on the journey across the Atlantic Ocean, one who was born during that journey.  Upon reaching America, her father contracted cholera from drinking water in New Orleans and died.  That left Marinda, one sister, and their grieving mother to set out together on foot towards Utah, only a tiny fraction of what their family once was.

Once in Utah, Marinda’s mother re-married, had a child, and died in childbirth.  Marinda ended up living with another family.

Remember when I told you yesterday about my favorite paintings from The Hope Gallery? 

Take a gander at this first one, entitled “Immigrants.”  I imagine Marinda as the little girl holding the orange in the tiny family at the front of the painting, waiting to board the ship for their journey across the ocean.  She had no idea what was in store for her or what sadness she would soon endure.  But she knew her family would be able to worship and live the way they believed.

Immigrants Edvard Petersen

And this painting, “Visit by Mormon Missionaries”- is she the little girl interested to hear the message from the missionaries?

Visit by Mormon Missionaries Carl Dalsgaard

I admire her strength- to live a life so full of grief, but still find happiness.  She later married and had her own family.  And am I ever grateful!  Her strength to endure would later give me life, as one of her many many descendents.  And not only that- Her faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ was taught to her children, and passed from one generation to the next.

I am amazed at the hardships and tests our ancestors were put through.  Whenever I hear these stories, it always makes me stop and wonder: am I living up to their sacrifices?

What do you know about Scandinavian art?

Well, I’m a non practicing art historian (I have the degree but no job), and I knew shamefully NOTHING about Scandinavian art.  What’s even more shameful: My ancestors are Danish!

I happened upon The Hope Gallery’s website one day, and discovered that right here in my city, there is a gallery devoted to Scandinavian art.

“Our vision is to inform and inspire the public with the forgotten treasures of Scandinavian art from the nineteenth and early twentieth century. With a special focus on Danish paintings, we hope to educate the world on its essentially undiscovered/undervalued artists who were overshadowed and more or less forgotten due to French Impressionism and Modernism.”

This lovely gallery in downtown Salt Lake City might just be my new favorite place ever.  I haven’t visited the Park City or Provo locations yet, though!

The gallery itself is gorgeous.  But it could be in a rusted tin shack and I would still adore every ounce of it just for the beautiful paintings.

Elizabeth Baumanm   Reading From the Scriptures

The Violinist  Anna Sophie Petersen

A Visit in the Studio  Bertha Wegmann

Did you notice the names of those painters?  Female!  It’s painfully difficult to find women painters in history (or women in history- period), but I found several beautiful paintings by women throughout the gallery.

In addition, there’s an entire room devoted to Carl Bloch’s lovely (and famous) paintings from the New Testament.

But I haven’t even shown you my favorite paintings!  I’ll leave that for tomorrow.  For now, just spend some time casting your eyes on those lovelies up there!

When I saw the subject of this article, I couldn’t help clicking on it.  A Museum of Failed Relationships?

The founders Olinka Vistica and Drazen Grubisic set up this museum of “artifacts” of failed love affairs after consoling many friends through breakups.  Exhibited are teddy bears, love letters, photos, and other objects representing relationships, all donated anonymously.

At first I laughed out loud at the idea of this museum, but then I thought they might be on to something.  I imagine visitors to this exhibit will come at many different stages of breakup, from the first days when nothing seems like it will ever be right to people who have moved on and are living happily in a new relationship.  In that way, I imagine everyone will relate to something in this exhibit.

I also think it would be interesting to see the objects people choose to represent a failed relationship.  How interesting that one object could possibly give an idea of an entire complex, emotional relationship!

The museum is now on world tour.  From their website,

Unlike the destructive self-help instructions for recovery from failed loves, the Museum offers every individual the chance to overcome the emotional collapse through creation, i.e., by contributing to the holdings of the Museum. The individual gets rid of controversial objects , triggers of momentarily undesirable emotions, by turning them into museum exhibits, i.e., artefacts and thereby participating in the creation of a preserved collective emotional history.

What a great idea of allowing visitors to leave their own remnants from failed relationships!  The exhibit will constantly be changing and will become even more universal.

I don’t know…I still think it’s a little silly, but if it came to my town, I’d go!  Would you?