On a High at the High

Yesterday was a lovely day in Atlanta. The humidity was a bit less oppressive...it is almost Labor Day for Heaven's Sakes!...and it was even a bit cooler. C and I made our usual Saturday trek over to MetroFresh for our soup lunch. Mitchel was serving up some yummy Strawberry Coconut cold soup, and I am relieved to learn that he does not use cream as a base but instead fat free yogurt and honey as a sweetener! WooHoo!!! We also picked up some whole grain sourdough at Breadgarden. (Oh, and we checked on the progress of Trader Joe's...it is lookin' good and the folks at MetroFresh tell me that it will be opening in late September!!! I am ready Joe!!) Here are some of the breads at Breadgarden...makes your mouth water, doesn't it?

Then we ambled on up to the High Museum to check out some photographs in the permanent collection. Normally we only get to the High for the new "big" shows like the Gee's Bend Quilts or Andrew Wyeth, so it was wonderful to just take a couple of hours to see some of the treasures that they have acquired over the years. C loves photography, so that was where we started. Then I happened upon a room of African art and started serupticously taking pictures. I knew not to use a flash and I saw another guy snapping photos with his cell phone, so I sort of thought it might be OK. The docent approached me and I feared she was about to rip the camera out of my hands...and rightly so. However, she very nicely informed me that if I went to the front desk I could get a permit to photograph pieces in the permanent collection. WooHoo!!

Can you see the bird head on this guy? I immediately thought of Gerrie's daughter, Lisa (A Bird in the Hand blogspot on typepad). The shoes on this dude are silk...two shades of striped blue! The white that you see is all small seashells. Just incredible!!!

This is also African and is a piece of silk "Kente" cloth or "Oyokoman Adweneasa" Cloth. The description of this piece went on to say that Oyokoman means the pattern is the most elite of the Kente patterns. Adwaneasa means "full of ornament". It also translates as "I have exhausted all of my skills"!!! Don't we all experience that feeling every so often?!!!

I had hoped to show you a closeup of the Kente cloth, but blogger isn't allowing it. Darn!! It is incredible and I think it may someday be food for thought in the way of a quilt. Before I received permission to photograph the exhibit, I was jotting all of the pertinent info about the Kente cloth in a little notebook that I always carry in my purse. The same docent once again approached me, this time with a pencil in hand. She very kindly (and patiently) told me that pens were not allowed in the museum due to possible damage to the artwork, and thrust the pencil upon me! I was certainly her problem child for the day!! So, we got our photographic permit, snapped our pics and headed off to the permanent Folk Art exhibit where I could relax with Howard Finster for a while!!!

I loved all of the comments about how you would spend your lottery winnings! I know that we would definitely give a chunk to our church and another chunk to the homeless shelter where C is very active in their feeding program. Cancer and AIDs research are also very high on my list. Other than that, I would add on a new master suite to our house...one above our living and diningroom, with a view of the lake! I think, like Acey, I would have a couple of full time gardeners on staff so that I could enjoy my surroundings without feeling like I had to break my butt in order to do so!!! Oh, and I would sell our condo in Midtown and buy a house...with staff to keep it running in our absence!!!