Kate Chopin short story just released!

I've been dipping into the classics again and first up is a short story by Kate Chopin -- The Kiss.  As usual with Chopin's stories, even the shortest ones leave the reader with much to think about.  Here's the blurb from Audible:

"Nathalie, a lovely and determined young lady, plans to marry Mr. Brantain, an unattractive but extremely wealthy man. When an unexpected event occurs involving her brother’s friend, Mr. Harvy, the consequences illustrate the finality of the choice Nathalie makes. Kate Chopin was a prolific writer of short stories and books that have been translated into films, plays, and operas. Chopin’s work often took place in Louisiana, and her book The Awakening was referenced in the HBO series Treme."

To listen to a sample and/or purchase, go to Audible here.  There will be more Kate Chopin stories coming up.  I'll post here when they become available on  Audible.

A (Half) Day at the Museum

Linda, Duane and I had been planning to hit the 'In Living Color' exhibit currently at the Tampa Museum of Art.    Actually, the full title of the exhibit is "In Living Color: Andy Warhol and Contemporary Printmaking."  We went to the museum last Friday and viewed the exhibit before having lunch downtown.  Though there was mostly Warhol's work, there were also some pieces by Keith Haring, Josef Albers, Richard Diebenkorn, Anish Kapoor, and others.

It was a nice day to visit since weekdays are pretty quiet and we took our time browsing the exhibit before heading down to check out the gift shop (Duane bought a set of paint brushes) and then heading out for lunch.  One thing we noticed was how shiny the minarets at the University of Tampa looked in the sunlight.  Tampa U is right across the river from the museum.

Tampa Museum of Art

   

University of Tampa minarets across the river.

I wish I'd gotten a better pic of the minaret on the far right -- the big fat one.  It looked like someone had just hand polished it.  I didn't realize the trees were blocking my view.  Duh.

After we found a local sandwich shop where we decided to have lunch, Linda and Duane were nice enough to accompany me to a local jewelry store.  I had won an auction at a charity event recently for a gift certificate to the Hayman Jewelry Co.  I hate to admit that I'd never heard of them before I won the gift cert.  They're a family-owned company that's been in business since 1933.  Very nice people helped me in the shop.  I selected a pair of turquoise and 14 karat yellow gold earrings.  I love the way turquoise looks with yellow gold.  The Victorians wore turquoise this way.  I own an antique band ring with full English hallmarks from 1880 that's 18 karat yellow gold and has turquoise stones.  Actually, I have quite a few pieces of antique and vintage jewelry -- particularly rings.  I sure hope my nieces are into jewelry when they're older...

As usual, we had a really nice day and managed to get home before some serious thunderstorms moved in by the afternoon.

My new earrings.

It was worth braving the bad weather!

It turned out to be SO worth going out into the nasty rain and wind a couple of weeks ago for the Seminole Heights Christmas in July Sale!  See original post here.   We didn't even make it to all of the stores we would have liked to have visited before we stopped for lunch and then called it a day.  We did make some nice purchases, though, and Linda was the lucky winner of the drawing for a $100 gift certificate for furniture from The Bali Bay Trading Company. 

Linda, Duane, and I headed for Bali Bay on Friday and Linda purchased a beautiful dark teak console table.  Of course, it weighs a ton but Duane was able to maneuver it into the backseat of her car and our good friend, Clint, (who lives in Linda's apt. complex) helped get it out of the car, up the stairs and into Linda's apartment.  Can't wait to see what Linda does with it regarding decorating and so happy that she won!  The owner of Bali Bay gave her a great deal on it in addition to her $100 off since he has a new shipment coming in soon and needs the space. 

Just think.  If we hadn't gone out into that weather (which lasted over the weekend), Linda wouldn't have gotten this great deal.  But that's us.  Neither rain, nor hail...

Linda's new teak table.