A Day Filled with Art

May 5, 2026

Today Kevin and I decided to revisit an art gallery not to far from our flat, The Estorick Collection. Kevin went on line and checked the hours. We walked to the bus stop to catch bus 73. We got off at Essex Station and after a short walk we arrived at the gallery.

When we got to the gates a very official and beautifully dressed woman informed us the that the gallery was closed to the public because it was hosting a private function. We were very disappointed and I informed her that we had come a long way to see the Alessandro Mendini exhibition. When she asked us where we had come from I promptly told her “Canada”. She asked us a few more questions about where in Canada and we told her that we live in Toronto. Turns out that she’s been there and so had her sons.

I guess she took pity on us and she invited us to join the crowd and help ourselves to food and drink so we looked like we belonged there. It turned out that she was the organizer of the event. For the next 15 minutes we kept hearing her mention the couple from Canada and she even brought over her sons to introduce us to them.

We joined a group for a tour of the gallery. We learned about the history of the place and how the original owners were looking for Italian art from the early 20th century in the futuristic genre.

After this part of the tour, Kevin and I made our way to the Alessandro Mendini exhibition. He is one of Kevin’s favourite designers from Italy. It is a very playful and colourful exhibit. He is very well known for this chair.

Here are several more pieces fr the exhibit.

When we got back to Highbury Islington we did the school pick up for Sevin and took her home. At the flat Sevin and I made more art.

Judy’s Numbers Game Photo Challenge

thanks to Judy Dykstra-Brown for hosting the Numbers Game https://judydykstrabrown.com/2026/03/15/the-numbers-game-116-please-play-along/

This weeks number is 238. What photos pop up for you?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

enjoying a slightly revised Dublin Coddle

Kevin made this wonderful stew/soup for dinner tonight. The original recipe calls for a different type of sausage that is not browned ahead of time. Kevin used a mild Italian sausage which he sliced and browned. He also added peas and he used my homemade chicken stock.

It was perfect on this very wintery cold evening.

Here is a recipe similar to what Kevin made.

https://www.allrecipes.com/dublin-coddle-irish-sausage-and-potato-stew-recipe-7185428

This recipe calls for stout but we left it out. It would, however add another nice dimension to the dish.

Thursday Throwback – Three Weddings

This year two of my three children have and will be celebrating their 10th wedding anniversaries and one celebrates 15 years of marriage. All three were very happy days and full of wonderful memories.

9/10/11

Our youngest daughter was married first and her anniversary date is always easy to remember. She and her now husband were married on September (9th month) on the 10th day in 2011. It was a beautiful late summer day and the outdoor wedding took place in a vineyard.

In 2016, our remaining two children decided to tie the knot. Andrea and Josie were married on their 10th anniversary of their first date, February 10th. It was a small wedding with family and close friends. They were married at City Hall and had the reception in a lovely Italian restaurant.

Five months later our son, Brendan and his beautiful wife, Azadeh were married in Assisi, Italy. The destination was chosen because it was the one place that all the families could attend without any visa restrictions. Also Brendan and Azadeh had a connection with the owner of the resort and they were able to book the entire place just for their guests. It was a magical place and a wedding that we won’t soon forget.

Lens Artists Photography Challenge – Unusual Crops

thanks to Ritva for hosting this week’s Lens Artists Challenge https://sillarit.com/2026/02/14/lens-artists-challenge385-unusual-crop/

When I say ‘unusual crops’ I’m not referring to food but to a photography term where you ‘cut away’ parts of the photo to make it more interesting. Here are my submissions.