Baldur

He was lecturing at the Eric Carle Museum of Children's Book Illustration, a fantastic place that Baldur had not yet had the pleasure of visiting.
Oddly Robert decided to come with me, I had assumed it would bore him terrifically. He was fine and in fact had a great time.
The concept of a historic bed & breakfast confused him a bit at first but he adapted.
Generally when we've traveled he has made the lodging arrangments, which inevitably translated into a large modern hotel.
Personally that is something Baldur considers one should always avoid doing, c'est la vie.

marius

Oh yes to James Spader! (But, zero for Captain Kirk, Denny Crane ... although do love the character of Denny.)

marius

Oh wait ... there is one type that appeals to me. I like men who can fix things, create things. Don't know why. Just do. Spouse made a beautiful stained glass room divider. He also can re-wire, do some plumbing, build fences and railings, roto-till, and one of his best traits is finding things. If you need something, maybe a thingy to make your drawer open better ... he will find it! Similarly, if you lose something, say reading glasses, he will find them.

And, Baldur - I am reading about your trip with Robert. Kind of stuck on the type who attracts right now. Will catch up.

Baldur

Facial hair is always a big bonus for me, one would have to have many outstanding qualities to get through my scrutiny without some semblance of a beard.

The inn we stayed at was directly across the street from the home where Emily Dickenson lived. Now that would truly have bored poor Robert to tears.
Whilst Baldur took a brief nap Robert meandered downstairs to watch television in a common room. Once there he was joined by the innkeeper's husband.
They sat in an elaborately appointed Victorian sitting room, drinking beer and watching the television while surrounded by Wardian cases filled with taxidermified (+12 points) birds.

Baldur

Barry Moser's lecture was riveting.
He discussed and compared his illustrations for modern editions of 'the Wonderful Wizard of Oz' and 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'
For Oz he based many of the characters on real people, many of the political persuasion.
He used an overhead projection to show photographs beside his own work.
There larger than life was the Wicked Witch of the West, and she was Nancy Reagan.

marius

I envy the bed and breakfast stay and those who can do them. Have tried it but generally when away, seclusion is the dream. Met the nicest folks who owned B&B's, but it is not the ideal situation when wanting seclusion. Think I disappointed a few B&B hosts.

Baldur

Dickenson -e +i ickinson, totally unforgivable

marius

Am going to have to read more of Barry Moser. He illustrated Oz and Alice?
I have a fascimile book of Alice. It's a photo copy of Lewis's printing and drawings taken from the original he made for Alice. It's my favorite of all editions, but I'll take a look at Barry's.

Does Baldur like Arthur Rackham's artwork?

Baldur

Our room was up on the top floor and included the turret!
It was the type of decor that used multiple wallpapers: fields, dados, friezes etc, all in William Morris patterns.
The furnishings were also antiques an amazing place.
The french toast at breakfast was quite nice, as were all the other choices.

Baldur

I did not intend to add an emoticon, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

marius

I don't know how you all add emoticon's anyway. My computer seems not to allow it, just as well.

What are dados? And, have you been back to this B&B?

Baldur

Arthur Rackham is very nice. Baldur is trying to appreciate Erte' lately but it's difficult.
Artwise a big favorite of mine is Russian, a gentleman from the early 20th century by the name of Ivan Bilibin.

Baldur

What I tried to do, and I will separate them with commas this time
was:

+,,,,,,,,,D

Baldur

(sigh of relief.. no smiley face)

Baldur

A dado is the lower portion of a wall, often separated from the upper portion by a chair-rail moulding.
In the ornate system of late 19th century wallpaper there would be different but coordinated wallpapers used above and below

marius

Ahhh ... love new words. Dado it is. Thanks for definition.

Also, am sure I have some books with Ivan Bilibin illustrations. Looks quite familiar. Will have to search through them, but yes, have seen them.

Baldur

Baldur also loves the work of Edward Gorey and Gustav Klimt,

marius

Have heard of Klimt - looked briefly. Is this sort of Art Nouveau art? Whatever style, it's very nice. Gorey sounds familiar too.

Baldur

I've not had an excuse to return to the B&B.
Economy usually rears it's head and we will stay with friends whenever possible. It so happened that we had nobody reasonably close to Amherst, Massachusetts.
When first planning this trip it was my intention to go alone, but Robert's intentions were different.

Baldur

Klimt was very art nouveau with lots of mythopoetic (+6 points) imagery.
He also loved to incorporate metallic finishes, the overall effect of his backgrounds were often like mosaics.