Friday, August 14, 2015
Friday
night we had a family get together that
included pretty much everyone sans a cousin who was out of town and my brother
who lives in Northeast Ohio. Still, even without them there were still over a
dozen of us, and it certainly took some coordination to pull it all off. I am
grateful to my parents for paying for all the food, my sister for selecting the
burgers from wherever it is she gets them, and my husband for slaving over a
hot grill while I tended the corn on the cob (none of which I could actually
eat because of my braces).
Looking
back on it now I think I can safely say a good time was had by all, and I was
thanked repeatedly for hosting the party, which was really no big deal. We
should make it an annual event, like we do at Christmas, and perhaps take turns
hosting it between the four of us who live in the greater Columbus area. I will
certainly bring that up for discussion later…
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Today
was our seventeenth anniversary. No, I don’t know what one gets on the
seventeenth, and we usually don’t exchange presents. I did, however, purchase
(from the $50 my mom gave us) a cute little cartoon-like character that was
created by a local artist in Springfield. I saw it for sale at Café Mundo when
we went to lunch there. I decided to call him Felix and he currently sits on
the shelf above our kitchen sink.
After
spending most of the morning chatting in our kitchen, we decided to head out to
Springfield to visit the infamous American folk art site, Hartman Rock-Garden.
The garden was created in 1932 by Harry George “Ben” Hartman after he was laid
off from his job during the Great Depression. I had first read about it in my Weird
Ohio book and the August issue of Ohio magazine has an article highlighting it.
http://www.ohiomagazine.com/Main/Articles/5171.aspx
I
figured since it was free and open dawn to dusk, and not too far away (perhaps
an hour’s drive), it would be the perfect activity for the five of us (my
parents, my uncle, my husband, and myself). Although it wasn’t as big as I
thought, it was just the right size to spend an hour or so, and there’s
certainly a lot of detail, so it’s easy to miss something if you don’t look
closely. There were a few other people while we were there, so it’s definitely
a popular tourist attraction. I’m not sure what was my favorite part, but the
concrete pond (which he built first) was quite lovely.
Since
it was already midday we decided to head downtown for some lunch at Café Mundo,
which Andrew and I had previously visited after a recommendation from my artist
friend, Amy. Although my dad isn’t much of a sandwich person, he, and everyone
else seemed to enjoy their selections, and some of us shared a strawberry
smoothie which was less creamy and more fruity than some I’ve had.
Andrew
and I had glimpsed an interesting looking mural on the side of the YMCA
building, so we decided to go over and check it out. It’s called “Upward
Through the Storm” and was sponsored by Project Jericho. Here’s a link to an
article about it:
Our
next stop of the day was Frank Lloyd Wright’s Westcott House, which everyone
but my uncle had already been to, but we all decided to go again. Unfortunately
there was a large tour group (that had been bussed in) ahead of us, so we
either had an hour wait or an option to skip it, so we skipped it. There was a
lady in the gift shop who was a member of the FLW Foundation and kept trying to
convince us to tour it. We told her we had already been through it and weren’t
that impressed having been to Taliesan West, the Roby House, Falling Water,
etc.
A
gift shop employee mentioned the Solar House, which is owned by the foundation,
was open for free tours and was only just a little ways down the road, so we
all headed over there. It turned out to be way more impressive than Frank’s
house!
The
solar house is 1000 square feet and was transported to the site in two halves.
It has an open floor plan with a single bedroom and bathroom. We were quite
intrigued by the rubber-matte like solar tiles since we were expecting them to
be heavy like glass, which is what you usually see. These are apparently
lighter weight and easier to install [there’s a photo illustrating the point
that even a female student can lift them]. The glass is triple paned, which is
a bit of overkill for Ohio, but perfect for Alaska the docent told us. Also,
there’s underfloor heating, which I think is geothermal, but not absolutely
sure. Here’s a link to info. about the house: https://www.westcotthouse.org/solar-house#load
My
uncle said he could definitely see himself living quite happily in something
like that, and being that he lives in California, where solar houses are
probably more of a reality than here in Ohio, I could totally see that too. I
like the idea, but I don’t think there’s any way my husband and I could
peacefully coexist in only 1000 square feet (unless there’s loads of outdoor
space to get away from each other).
I
really enjoyed getting to see the Solar House. I love unplanned activities as
they sometimes make for the best memories. Also, it felt a bit like being part
of “House Hunters.” It made me dream of what life would be like if I was more
of a minimalist (one can dream….).
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Today
on the agenda was a visit to President Harding’s house in Marion (which is
about an hour due north of Columbus). Russ wanted to be able to tick off
another house on his list of Ohio Presidents’ Homes having already seen
Garfield’s in Mentor, and McKinley’s in Canton. All that’s left is President
Hayes’ house in Fremont and President Taft’s birthplace in Cincinnati.
It
was an easy drive through a mostly rural area, which Ohio seems to largely be
made up of with smatterings of little towns and villages here and there with
the occasional big city.
Though
we drove separately (since my parents and uncle were heading straight home up
north afterwards), we were surprised that my parents managed to arrive only
minutes after we did. Hence, we timed it right for getting on the next tour.
Our small group (perhaps a dozen or so of us) met on the front porch where our
guide gave us a quick rundown of the rules (no photography inside and of course
no touching anything) and what our itinerary would include before giving us the
history of President Harding. Though Harding was a Republican, our Democratic
family did our best not to show our political leanings.
There
were certainly a lot of interesting objects in the house and our guide said
only about 3000 of the 5000 in their collection can only be out at one time.
The rest are stored in the attic. I liked the lamps and the elephant
collection, and the quilt on their son’s bed.
Some
parts of the house are still undergoing restoration – like the kitchen and
dining room where part of the wall has been torn away to reveal where a
staircase once existed I think. Water damage is evident upstairs where the
wallpaper has bubbled. Our guide said the leaky roof has been repaired, but
other work needs to be done before the repair can be made. Most of the house is
in pretty good shape for being over 100 years old, and it’s an enjoyable enough
tour, and quite affordable (it was only $30 for the five of us).
Since
the Harding monument was only a mile and a half away, we decided to visit
before heading home. We noticed the monument is surrounded on all sides by
cemeteries (but bisected by a couple roads), which I wish we had had time to
look around inside, but maybe on another visit? The monument was pretty
impressive with large marble stairs to the top (which of course we climbed). Also,
there were lots of big puffy clouds, so it was a good day to take pictures.
That
concludes our very busy weekend. Hoping for a quiet week and upcoming weekend.
Have a good week everyone!
