Chinese terracotta warriors in San Francisco

March 2013

Some of the terracotta warriors who were buried with the First Emperor Qin Shihuang are on a travelling exhibit.  They came to the San Francisco Asian Art museum and a big group of friends joined us for this unique show.

You can see them in situ in China, but the travelling exhibit obviously has a limited set. They are a nice selection-the standing and kneeling warrior, an archer, horses, and a general.  The gift store has reproductions from knick-knack to 3/4 size for your garden-tempting!

As with the pyramids or the Great Wall, the shear scale of the project makes it worth thinking about.  Imagine being one of the terracotta artisans.  You start your apprenticeship making basic arms, legs and torsos.  You  hope to move up to work on the faces, all unique (maybe you make one look like you?).  And you are going to be doing this most of your life.  And you know your work is going to be buried so no one will see it. 

It wasn't just an army, they also constructed a palace, extra buildings and gardens, including bronze geese and ducks. The entire project needed over half a million workers.  So right, there was some hard core project management happening there!  Unfortunately for some, the emperor didn't want anyone to know what was going on, so planners, designers, important artisans, and their concubines, were buried with the emperor.  With great honor comes certain death.

We checked out the rest of the museum which manages to pack in many Asian cultures.  Take time to look at the pieces that museum workers have picked as their favorites (like recommendations in book stores) - the comments are funnier than you expect.  In the Japanese section, check out the tea room where you can learn about just how complex it can be to drink tea.  Below are some items I found especially beautiful.

caligraphy

batik textiles

flowers and leaves are swirling in the wind

Indoor skydiving

May 2013
We went indoor skydiving at iFLY in Union City, CA with a group outing and it was SO MUCH FUN!

It is not scary because you have a mostly solid floor, you can't see the giant jet engines and the instructors are totally helpful.  We all got two times, each for a minute 30 seconds.  This is plenty for a first visit.  The first minute you spend figuring out how to not topple completely sideways.  The second minute you figure out how to go up and down and maybe spin.  In the last minute the instructor grabs you by the suit handles and takes you very high up and spins.  I spent the whole spin laughing my head off-totally feels like a smooth, fast roller coaster!

I would recommend going early to watch the professionals practicing and any other newbie groups.

Garden photos May 2013

What has been happening in the garden?

Fava bean flowers

that turned into beans

Onions and snapdragons

 The apple blossoms

that turned into awesome apples

The last of the peas

And the first of the tomatoes

And the hydrangeas have started to bloom

Pittsburgh, Primanti Bros. and Incline

We went through Pittsburgh (did you know that the 'h' at the end of the name was outlawed for a couple years until the citizens demanded it be restored?) on our way to a wedding.

The first place we ate?  Primanti Bros. I think they got onto the Food Network a couple of years ago and became even more famous, but we learned about them in the 90's from a friend who was in grad school.  The thing you must eat is a sandwich.  They put the fries and the coleslaw into the sandwich rather than on the side.  I don't love fries, and these are only okay, but for me it is the slaw that is delightful.  When I returned to California I ate at The Counter and had them put the slaw on the burger.  It was very good, but still not as good as Primanti Bros.

With a couple hours before our flight home, we visited the Duquesne incline in downtown Pittsburgh.  The inclines are still a part of the public transportation system-you can even bring your bike

Starting at the bottom

Views of the three rivers on the way up from the sides

and the top of the incline as we come out of the tunnel.  Yes, it is as steep as it looks!

The panoramic set of photos from the observation deck.

The cars are originals, though the cable has been changed.  Did I mention it was steep?

 The cars pass each other in the exact middle.

Other great things to do in Pittsburgh are Kennywood, the local amusement park with a nice mix of old and new, the Carneige Science museum,  which is across the river from the Duquesne incline, an

Fallingwater 2013

While attending a friends wedding just south of Pittsburgh I took the opportunity to visit Falling Water with E- and Mandy.  Falling Water is the architectural masterpiece by Frank Lloyd Wright.  The tours are super popular and you should book ahead if you want to see the inside.   We did the 2 hour tour with brunch afterward and it was a real treat.

If you want to get the 'money shot' without people on the terraces, arrive early and take the nature trail.

But I also recommend the trail to the bird's eye view and other viewpoints of the outside.

Don't forget to look at the natural beauty which is why the Kaufmann's wanted the house here in the first place.

There are a couple of neat tricks to bring the outside inside.  Where there is a natural seep, cover it with an almost roof.  

Or if it the natural seep is inside make it an artistic focal point.

Bring in maximum light and air through windows

that come directly out of the wall

or where the glass opens out and the screens open in

or that are on all sides.  

Build stairs that look like water cascades and those overhangs that look like the natural rocks.

Wright designed all the furniture and dictated where it belonged.  Some of it was obviously from the 60's, except for the fact that it was make in 1939.

Even fantastic art houses need practical items like bottle openers

and lamps!