Busy Times!

Last weekend was quite busy, beginning on Thursday night with the Garden of Glass exhibit at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The weather was perfect that evening, with temperatures in the low 70's and a comfortable humidity level. Artist Craig Mitchell Smith created the 24+ glass pieces, nearly all of which are located inside the Climatron. That is a somewhat small space, so I was curious to see how crowded it would be. As it turned out, it really wasn't too bad as they are somewhat controlling the numbers by issuing timed tickets. Ours were for 7:00, which is the earliest you can get in. I think the time slot kept some of the crowds away as there were people waiting in line outside the Climatron when we next walked by around 8:30.

Garden of Glass

The benefit of going early, besides fewer people, is that you still get some sunlight coming into the Climatron. It makes it easier to take photos for sure, since they don't allow tripods inside. The downside is that you don't get to see how the glass looks with full interior lighting on it. I'll take the smaller crowds any day. After we were done inside we had time to walk around the garden a bit, which was nice because it normally isn't open in the evenings. While we enjoyed the exhibit, we both felt that it falls way short of the magnificence of the Chihuly Glass in the Garden back in 2006.

Friday night I attended the world premiere of the movie "I Love You Both" with a girlfriend. It was held at the Tivoli Theatre, which I don't think I have been in since Jim and I saw "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" back when audience members were still allowed to not only dress up, but also go on stage, throw rice and toilet paper, use squirt guns in the theater, and flick their Bics. This new movie was written, directed and starred in by a brother and sister who graduated from a local high school. They recruited their mom to be in the movie as well because "we couldn't find anyone as funny as her." I love that! They stuck around after the show to answer questions, and it was interesting to get an inside look at the process of securing money, filming, and producing a movie on a shoestring.

As far as the movie itself goes, I thought the characters needed a little more development, and that the film drug a little bit. The premise is that one man falls for two people (in this case twins, played by the brother-sister duo) who both are interested in him as well. The problem is that he wasn't around them long enough to fall in love with one, much less both, of them.

Saturday I played in a pickleball round robin that lasted from 12-6. It was outside in a local park, and the temperature reached into the 90's that day. Luckily, there was low humidity and a breeze, so in the shade it wasn't too bad. After that I hurried home to shower and head off to a high school graduation party. Jim was in Kansas City so he wasn't able to attend.

Kirkwood Round Robin

Sunday morning I met a photographer friend in University City to see the Mannequins on the Loop. Different artists compete to win a prize for best dressed mannequin. The materials have to be a recycled product. Such creativity!

Mannequins on the Loop

Then finally I had lunch with a friend who had also been away on a vacation, though hers was to Ireland, a favorite place of mine. We wanted to catch up on our trips. She also wanted to bring me up to date on her new book, which is currently at the publishing company. All of the photos in the book are mine. I can't wait to see it - and read it. Busy weekend, but very rewarding in so many areas.