Truth loses nothing upon investigation
Dec. 18th, 2002 08:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidI spent the afternoon in Lowell today.
I finally got myself out the door much later than I'd wanted to. Still, I was going to make the noon train. Ran into a friend on the T, who was headed to his *second* viewing of TTT. Sick, I tell you, totally sick. And I was startled to see one of the Green line trolleys be red, wrapped, like a bus, in Bacardi advertisements.
I took the commuter rail to the end of the line. It was the first time I'd taken the train on that line, and I was surprised to recognize as much of it as I did. The stops in Winchester were along a bike route I used to use (and hopefully will again).
It's easy to take the train to the end of the line; no worries about missing the stop. There wasn't a bus when I got there (apparently a bus ride is 30 cents, which seemed enough of a novelty that I'd've liked to take one), so I walked to the center of town, forgetting the directions to go above the underpass. At least it was daylight, and I was facing traffic. I found the center of town, and (can't help it, have to use it) Mrs. ZZBottom and I lunched between the huge rafters of the old city hall (unused as a city hall since the late 1800s)(tuna with sundried tomatoes and red leaf lettuce on... (got it in one!) flatbread). It was good to see her.
She showed me where the quilt museum was, then headed back to work. I meandered around a bit, looking at buildings, reading those historic plaques I never bother to read in Cambridge, playing tourist. I'd passed the textile museum on the way over, and found that there are some other museums in Lowell, as well, including something called the Revolving Museum, which I was unable to visit, since they're not open on Wednesdays. They had a huge head made out of branches woven into a frame sitting out in their yard, though... I suppose I shall have to go back another day. I walked along a path by a canal, and read more plaques, finding out more about the mill town Lowell had been. There was some interesting modern sculpture, too, much of it word-based [the quote in the subject line was one]. It was interesting to see how the modern sculpture was put in ways, places that didn't clash with all the traditional brick buildings with all their period details (if you go, check out the building the B&N bookstore is in.).
The current exhibit at the Quilt Museum is quilts of Korea. Not, I thought, a traditional craft of that country. Which may be so, but there were some amazing quilts on display, incorporating traditional Korean images with Western techniques, types of fabrics. Wow. One was beige-ish brown and black, all faces of different ogres. Another was a circular quilt with the ten symbols of a good life worked in. One used the Korean flag as inspiration, another used a famous painting. One was of a complicated pair of gates, including handles to 'open' them. Too many to describe; well worth the visit. The down side: I find it hard to walk at museum pace; it hurts my knees after a while, also my feet.
I went back to meet Mrs. ZZB, but I was early, and found that Lowell hasn't quite heard of separation of church and state: there's a huge creche just in front of city hall, lit up at night. OTOH, the plaza allowed me to see the rising full moon beautifully.
Back to the train station, the ride whiled away in pleasant conversation.
I'm tired, though. I'm glad tomorrow's plans are mostly in Cambridge...
[Oh, the library at Merrimack Community College is not as good as the main public library in Providence: I wasn't able to check my friends page today until I got home.
Just another sign of the addiction.]
I finally got myself out the door much later than I'd wanted to. Still, I was going to make the noon train. Ran into a friend on the T, who was headed to his *second* viewing of TTT. Sick, I tell you, totally sick. And I was startled to see one of the Green line trolleys be red, wrapped, like a bus, in Bacardi advertisements.
I took the commuter rail to the end of the line. It was the first time I'd taken the train on that line, and I was surprised to recognize as much of it as I did. The stops in Winchester were along a bike route I used to use (and hopefully will again).
It's easy to take the train to the end of the line; no worries about missing the stop. There wasn't a bus when I got there (apparently a bus ride is 30 cents, which seemed enough of a novelty that I'd've liked to take one), so I walked to the center of town, forgetting the directions to go above the underpass. At least it was daylight, and I was facing traffic. I found the center of town, and (can't help it, have to use it) Mrs. ZZBottom and I lunched between the huge rafters of the old city hall (unused as a city hall since the late 1800s)(tuna with sundried tomatoes and red leaf lettuce on... (got it in one!) flatbread). It was good to see her.
She showed me where the quilt museum was, then headed back to work. I meandered around a bit, looking at buildings, reading those historic plaques I never bother to read in Cambridge, playing tourist. I'd passed the textile museum on the way over, and found that there are some other museums in Lowell, as well, including something called the Revolving Museum, which I was unable to visit, since they're not open on Wednesdays. They had a huge head made out of branches woven into a frame sitting out in their yard, though... I suppose I shall have to go back another day. I walked along a path by a canal, and read more plaques, finding out more about the mill town Lowell had been. There was some interesting modern sculpture, too, much of it word-based [the quote in the subject line was one]. It was interesting to see how the modern sculpture was put in ways, places that didn't clash with all the traditional brick buildings with all their period details (if you go, check out the building the B&N bookstore is in.).
The current exhibit at the Quilt Museum is quilts of Korea. Not, I thought, a traditional craft of that country. Which may be so, but there were some amazing quilts on display, incorporating traditional Korean images with Western techniques, types of fabrics. Wow. One was beige-ish brown and black, all faces of different ogres. Another was a circular quilt with the ten symbols of a good life worked in. One used the Korean flag as inspiration, another used a famous painting. One was of a complicated pair of gates, including handles to 'open' them. Too many to describe; well worth the visit. The down side: I find it hard to walk at museum pace; it hurts my knees after a while, also my feet.
I went back to meet Mrs. ZZB, but I was early, and found that Lowell hasn't quite heard of separation of church and state: there's a huge creche just in front of city hall, lit up at night. OTOH, the plaza allowed me to see the rising full moon beautifully.
Back to the train station, the ride whiled away in pleasant conversation.
I'm tired, though. I'm glad tomorrow's plans are mostly in Cambridge...
[Oh, the library at Merrimack Community College is not as good as the main public library in Providence: I wasn't able to check my friends page today until I got home.
Just another sign of the addiction.]