Art, Food

Did We Leave Our Car Windows Open?

66 Comments

In the United States, last Sunday was Father’s Day, and to celebrate, Clif and I had went on an honest-to-God outing, something we haven’t done since March 2020, right before the pandemic closed everything down. First we went to the Colby College Art Museum in Waterville, where we saw an exhibit featuring prints of the U.S. artist Mary Cassatt (May 22, 1844–June 14, 1926).

My first impression of the prints was that they were subtle to the point of being dull. But a closer look disabused me of that notion. A lesson, that’s for sure—first impressions are not always accurate. Cassatt was a master portraitist who focused on mothers and children. Cassatt’s ability to capture nuance and emotion shines forth even in her prints. I was utterly amazed that she could give them so much life.

Here is a short video featuring the curator of the exhibit.

After looking at the exhibit, we wandered around the rest of the museum. We found ourself on the lowest floor of the museum, where there were no windows, and we heard a loud rush of water that sounded suspiciously like rain. Could we really be hearing rain so far down?

It seems that we could. When we went upstairs and looked out a window, we saw the rain bucketing in sheets.

Clif asked, “Did we leave our car windows open?”

Yes, we did. The day was hot and humid, and we thought it would be more comfortable to leave the windows open. Boy, were we ever wrong.

The tempest didn’t last long, and when we went back to the car, there was water, water everywhere pooling inside the center console. Fortunately, I was able to mop up most of the water with napkins from the glove compartment.

But the cloth seats were soaked, and after two minutes of sitting on them, so were our backsides.

Nevertheless, onward we went to the second part of our outing—to Buen Apetito for Mexican food. Fortunately, we sat at a booth with plastic seats. As we squished our way in, I explained the situation to our server, who laughed and took it in stride.

“No worries!” she said.

With that settled, we started with a beer—Lunch not Miller Lite— for Clif and a margarita for me.

We shared an order of potato flautases, which I forget to take a picture of. And because it was Father’s Day weekend, we also split dessert, a deep-fried banana tortilla with scoop of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon.

As we would say in Maine, wicked good.

 

Some Favorite Blog Posts from Friends Far and Near

Note: After marathon gardening for two months, I’m still not in the swing of things, But eventually each week I hope to feature more posts from snappy blogs I follow.

Ju-Lyn, from Touring My Backyard, received the gift of a kabocha  pumpkin, which is one I’ve never heard of.

From New Zealand, Thistles and Kiwis featured highlights of a trip to Auckland.

 

 

66 thoughts on “Did We Leave Our Car Windows Open?”

  2. The deep-fried banana tortilla with scoop of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon looks wicked! … in calories LoL

    Hopefully, your butts and car dried out quickly.

  4. I’ve long admired Mary Cassatt– there weren’t many opportunities for female artists in her day, and only domestic scenes were grudgingly tolerated, but never was the artist recognized, let alone celebrated. Such a pity! So much talent left to gather cobwebs, alas, until recently. A few years ago we saw an exhibit on Female Impressionists, and it was a real eye-opener. Those women faced such odds! A lot of talent lost, as few could buck that adversity.
    I’m glad you had a proper outing for Father’s Day, but oh, what a surprise you found when you came out! At least, your meal was a great consolation prize. 🙂

    1. Eliza, so well put. It is heartbreaking to think of all the talent that has been squelched because of discrimination, class, and poverty.

      As for the wet seats…they gave us a giggle.

  7. Sounds like a great day out! Mary Cassatt is an underrated artist I think. Sorry to hear about the wet car seats but getting out must have been great. Thanks for the mention!

  9. So good to get out! It’s a triumph every time these days. So sorry your butts were soaked. But so cool that you refused to let it stop your fun.

  11. Thanks for the clips of the prints of Mary Cassatt, I liked her style. So sorry to hear about the car seats and the rain, but least you got a chance to have a lovely Mexican meal, and then that wicked good dessert!
    Happy Father’s day to Clif! In Australia we celebrate FD in September.

  12. There was an exhibit of post-Impressionists in Houston a few years ago, and Mary Cassatt’s “Girl in a Straw Hat” stopped me cold. I stood and looked at that painting until the friends I was with finally dragged me away. Her work is wonderful.

    That dessert looks pretty darned wonderful, too. The good news is that water dries, and calories don’t count when you’re having a pleasant outing!

    1. A terrific painter. The best portraitist of her era, I think, even though she doesn’t get the credit she deserves. That dessert was scrummy, and the wet backsides made for a good story.

  13. Sounds like a fun day, minus the rain thing. Good thing that happened after you were inside the museum. I doubt they would have been as accomodating as the restaurant was with your damp backsides! 🙂 The banana desert looked wonderful! And I’m curious what that potato dish was. I could look it up, but it’s so much more fun just to ask you!

    1. I don’t think there would have been comments from anyone in the museum. It’s a pretty laid-back place. The potato dish is sort of like a cannoli, only savory and with mashed potatoes piped into fried tortillas. Then the whole thing is topped with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and guacamole. So good, so fattening. A treat.

  14. Congratulations on your recent outing – I know first hand how awesome that feels (minus the wet backsides). 😀
    And….your Deep-Fried Banana Tortilla had me drooling — YUM!!!

  15. Rain … glorious rain, but never very welcome in a car for that takes an age to dry and to air well to be rid of the damp smell. I am glad though that it didn’t dampen your outing: what a wonderful choice of activities for Father’s Day too.

  16. I have heard of Mary Cassatt – I think one of the baby record books I bought when one of my daughters was born was illustrated with her prints which seems appropriate. I must dig it out and check. Apart from the wet butts incident it sounds like you enjoyed Fathers’ Day. It was also Fathers’ Day in the U.K. and, as our two daughters were visiting, we all went down to the beach for the first time since we moved back to England despite it being only 20 minutes drive away, We walked along the jurassic coastline looking for fossils and driftwood and had ice cream cones then back home where the father himself cooked us a roast dinner. He’d only say we hadn’t done it right if we’d cooked it 😉

    1. Well, we got a good story out of the torrential rain and open windows. 😉 Your day sounds just lovely. And if the father wants to cook, by all means let him.

  17. A fasciating video and your observations on the exhibition. I can sympathise with your wet bums as I settle on my weeding chair after rain. Are we really expected to believe that you needed an excuse for that dessert? 🙂

  18. Sorry about your wet backsides but we really could use the rain. Didn’t it feel great to finally get out and about though?

  19. Loved the story about the rain – haven’t we all done something like that! Glad you had a good day out. I had lunch out indoors! this week for the first time in over a year and it felt a real treat!

  20. Oh dear. Sopping wet cloth seats doesn’t sound too good — here’s hoping you’ve had sufficient drying days to remedy the mess. It’s been ages since I got to sit down and enjoy a proper Mexican restaurant meal — good that you already have!

  24. I think we have all done that, leave the car windows open. So sorry to hear you and Clif were soaking wet, but your lunch afterwards sounds fabulous!

    Thank you for the introduction to Mary Casssatt!

  27. And such an eventful outing it was!
    You both are such good sports about the water-logged seats …. and good humoured at the restaurant. I am glad it didn’t spoil the rest of your evening. All that wonderful food – I haven’t had flautus in years – and that dessert looks to die for! What a great way to end your day!

    P/S I am so jealous about your museum visit – I love Mary Cassatt’s paintings! It’s quite funny, but on occasions when I’ve gone to exhibitions where prints & sketches of famous painters or sculptors are on display, my initial reaction is not so different from yours. It is indeed with closer examination that these sketches & prints illuminate a side of an artist seldom seen.

  28. Seems that you had a really good day, Cassatt looks like an interesting artist (I’ve never come across her before) and that banana tortilla looks to-die-for tasty. Isn’t it great that – very slowly, and very cautiously – we’re beginning to get our old lives back!

    1. We had a wonderful day. Cassatt is a terrific artist. Glad to introduce her to you. And it certainly is great that we are beginning to get our old lives back.

  29. Well, I have left my car window open during the night before when it poured like that. GEEZ! It certainly isn’t funny but sometimes we learn the hard way. I am glad you got out for Fathers Day after so long of not going anywhere like that. The banana tortilla looks amazing! I hope you are doing well. Take care and thanks for sharing!

  31. Oh no! You made me laugh by saying ‘Fortunately, we sat at a booth with plastic seats.’ Being wet will have made a good day even more memorable.

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