The Essentials

The other night, on our way to see The King's Speech at the Amherst Cinema, we walked by the small essentials store that's next door to Tabellas.  We thought maybe we'd stop in for a quick look around -- I've always loved the store and we had plenty of time to spare.
But a note on the door said something to the effect of: Sorry, we're not here anymore.  Because of the current economic situation, a desire to focus more on our special order business, and a need to spend more time with family, we are closing the Amherst location and consolidating to our Northampton location.
I had a mix of feelings about this -- sorrow, because they had to close; happiness, because the Northampton store is staying open (really, I love this store); and respect, because I'm a big fan of people spending more time with their families.

To cut this post short, essentials is a super-cool store, full of funky things for the home, for the baby, for the adult, for the child, for a friend, for the kitchen, for the bathroom....  Stationery, furniture, dishes, baby clothes, stuffed animals, t-shirts, wrapping paper, jewelry, trinkets, bags, books, soaps, perfumes, things with a Euro flair, things with a Korean touch; they even do wedding stuff.  They play music from old records and have a friendly, helpful staff.
Stop in sometime and see what they've got.  It changes regularly -- I discover something new every time I'm there (which isn't nearly as often as I'd like!

Seasonal Scenes of Beauty: Winter

I know we're all completely tired of winter these days, snow piled everywhere higher and higher.  But we're in the middle of a February thaw, and I just loaded a new set of pictures from my camera, and by golly -- winter can be pretty!  (Click on the pictures for larger versions.)

Winterfest 2011

Just in time to save us from the winter-weariness -- here comes Winterfest 2011!
Complete with all activities winter, it boasts a chili cookoff, cross country skiing (and lessons), cardboard box racing, sled dogs, face painting, bird-watching walks, and much more. It's bound to be fun for the whole family, and a family of 3 or more can get in for $20 (check the website for ticket prices for students, adults, and children).
We won't be able to go tomorrow, but if you go, report in and let us know how it was.

Noon to 6pm, Saturday Feb 12, Cherry Hill Golf Course on Rt 63, Amherst.

Happy Winterfest!

Mead Art Museum

The Mead Art Museum of Amherst College is part of Museums 10, a consortium of local museums (some of which I previously blogged in the Belch blog).  It holds the art collection of the college and includes works by Homer, Rubens, and Monet, as well as Japanese wood art, South African sculpture, Russian modernist art, and local artist pieces.

Mr. Madley and I have made 2 visits to this small art museum in the last few months.  The first was an introductory visit to see a special Goya exhibit.  The second visit was to hear a talk on the new Orra White Hitchcock exhibit, wife of Edward Hitchcock, former president of the college. 
The museum is beautiful, each exhibit room painted a different color.  There is a beautiful reconstructed walnut-paneled room from 1611 that is filled with medieval, baroque, and renaissance art, and at least 8 more galleries with displays (and comfy chairs).  The art is lovely and varied, and the pieces are rotated periodically (as they should be).  Visit this link to see what's on view now.
The museum also regularly hosts events including lectures, meditations, poetry slams, demonstrations, gallery talks, and even tai chi!

The museum is free and open to the public (which is wonderful).  Check hours and accessibility here.  I would definitely recommend considering a visit -- it's an especially good thing to do during the cold winter (it's well heated and has great hours).
Lost on campus?  Find the museum by looking for the Stearns Steeple.