Hey hey! I have just recently gone to the RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) Museum, since I’ve never been. It was actually quite fun and interesting, so here I am, to tell you about it!

The museum is located in Providence, Rhode Island, and we went with a friend and her daughter. We started out in the “modern” section – these were pieces of art that were made in recent years (or this year, I can’t remember which). Anyway, we headed upstairs to the other part of the modern section. And that’s where I learned that you couldn’t take pictures of anything made after 1900 because of copyright issues. It was difficult to mask my boiling rage. Fortunately, before I found out, I managed to snap a few photos (Don’t tell!), so here they are.

After that exhibit, we walked over to the Egyptian Gallery. Obviously, this stuff was WAY before 1900, so I could take as many pictures as I wanted (Yay!). It had lots of interesting things, from an Egyptian scarab beetle (which are actually dung beetles) to an Egyptian sarcophagus. While I was walking around, I found out that everything in the room, even though it looked like art, had some sort of religious or practical use back in those days. In fact, there was no word for “art” in the Egyptian language. Yeah. I was pretty shocked. Anyways, here are the pics I took in there. By the way, on a lot of the pictures I’ve taken in this post, they are clear enough so that you can zoom in and actually read the signs.

Our next stop was the Asian Gallery. In this section, there were lots of religious objects, like a statue of the head of Buddha, and a statue of him sitting. In one room, there was even a bride box for carrying the bride of a wedding in. I wouldn’t mind staying in it for a while. It was quite fancy inside the bride box, with paintings for walls and even a tea set, all crammed in there! Here are the pics. By the way, all of these pictures are of Buddhist objects with the exception of the painting. The painting is Taoist, another religion.

The next exhibit was the Painting Gallery. Now we were getting more modern. These paintings even included a painting by Van Gogh himself! Other artists included Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, and Claude Monet. I couldn’t take many pictures because a lot of it was after 1900, but here are the ones I managed to get!

Next, we walked over to the HUGE Grand Gallery. So many paintings that you needed an entire guide to identify them, because if you put a sign next to a painting to tell what it is, you would confuse the sign with about five other paintings! My guess is that these were Baroque age paintings. What’s your opinion? Have a look.

Our next destination is what I’m guessing to be the Renaissance Gallery. Art here included a painting of the crucifixion, and a statue of the Greek god Apollo. In the next room, there were lots of paintings, but they were all made after 1900! Sorry guys. However, here are the pictures I got to take in the Renaissance Gallery.

After that we went outside to the garden to take a rest. Here’s what it looked like.

When we went back in, we were in the last section of the museum. It was all stuff from recent years! Sorry again. I found out about a husband and his wife, Herbert and Dorothy Vogel. The Vogels loved to collect art, mostly drawings. They crammed it all into their small apartment, and when they bought a real home they gave it away. However, they had enough art to divide it into 50 sections, and since there are 50 states, each state got some art! It turn out that Rhode Island’s art from the Vogels was right there in the museum! It was all mostly drawings. In fact, two-thirds of the Vogel’s art was drawings.

I hope you enjoyed this post about the RISD Museum. Check out other posts, and don’t forget to comment!

Hello, hello, hello! I have gone to an awesome place recently – Old Sturbridge Village. Old Sturbridge Village is a museum-town where you can find out what life was like back in the early 1800’s! And yes, I will include photos.

Well, anyways, we had found ourselves here because our friends had a meeting for six whole hours. Meaning we got to trek the park for six hours straight! Our first stop was the Small House, and we learned from the lady inside that it was a starter home of sorts. Old Sturbridge Village is set in the early 1800’s, so it wasn’t exactly Rich & Famous inside. Only three rooms. You heard me right. Only three. There was the main living room, a bedroom with one bed stuffed with hay, which was actually quite comfortable, and an attic which was blocked off. That was what a starter home was considered back then. Crazy, right? Here’s some photos.

By the way, these are from the entrance to the village, not the Small House. These next ones are, though.

So after that, we checked out a field full of grazing sheep and goats – even a tiny lamb – and then decided to investigate something that looked like an extremely large basketball with writing on it. Reading the sign, we found out that it used because there was a presidential election, and it was Martin Van Buren vs. William Henry Harrison. Supporters of Harrison wanted some way to attract attention and to sway folk to their side, so one of their techniques was to make a large colored ball, put quotes from Harrison on it, and roll it down the street slowly, so that you could read a quote no matter what angle the ball was at! In the same area, there was also an old horse-drawn carriage. Here’s some pics.

We then headed over to the Asa Knight Store, a country store selling all sorts of goods, including liquor, kettles, and kitchenware. Then, we walked over to a garden, which we found out was part of the Parsonage, so we browsed in there too. The Parsonage was home to a minister, who didn’t seem to be there at the time, but a lady was there who I’m guessing was his wife. Photo time!

We then found ourselves in the Tin Shop, where a worker was making a metal candleholder. To make it, you had to mark the pattern that you wanted to put on it on a piece of paper (?) with dots, and then put the paper (?) on the metal sheet, and then just poke through the dots, make a few adjustments, roll it into a cylinder, and you’re done! After that, we traipsed over to the Salem Towne House. Now THIS was the Rich & Famous. On the first floor, three parlors. Second floor, three bedrooms and a huge living room. Basement, a kitchen and barn. The barn also contained many activities, like milking a cow, and a twist on the classic ball-and-maze game, where you had to transport cargo then and now, with each hole representing a different reason why you might not make it to your destination! Here are the pics.

Afterwards, we traveled to the Blacksmith Shop, where the blacksmith was crafting a heart-shaped trivet, which are used for keeping hot dishes off the table. It’s a stand for hot food on hot plates, basically. Sometimes restaurants use them. I think. Anyways, after that, we got hungry, so we decided to take the horse and wagon – rides are free – to the Bullard Tavern. Here are the pictures of those exciting events!

After we stuffed ourselves full of food, we went over to the Printing Office, which – obviously – specializes in printing. Right at that moment, they were printing a document for marriage laws and rights, using a huge printing machine to, well, print it. Our last stop before we hit the six-hour mark was the Glass Exhibit, with a collection of glass objects from the early 1800’s and other times. Check out the last pictures of the day!

Unfortunately, that is all for this post. I hope you enjoyed it. Check out other posts, and don’t forget to comment!

Hey, just posting to tell you that this time a year ago, I was on my cross-country road trip, blogging! That’s all I wanted to say. Today we were heading out to Nevada later in the day. It really doesn’t seem like that long ago!

How are you all doing on this fine day? Today I will be teaching you about foods that will help boost your immune system. Add these immunity-boosting-but-delicious foods into your everyday diet, and you’ll be healthy as a horse.

1 teaspoon of garlic. Garlic is filled with phytochemicals, which will lower the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and even a few types of cancer.

One-half cup of shiitake mushrooms. These are a great source of Vitamin B, which will boost white blood cell production. Because of the white blood cells, the infected cells will self destruct.

6-ounce cup of green tea. It contains polyphenols, which are useful for many things, including cell growth, keeping cells healthy, soothing the senses, and calming sore throats.

1 medium orange. They are loaded with Vitamin C, which helps in the production of antibodies that fight infections.

One-half cup of blueberries. They are a good source of Vitamins C and E, which, together, are a great antioxidant, and also protect against urinary infections.

1 medium sweet potato. They are carriers of Vitamin C, which will aid in tissue repair, bone strength, blood vessel health, body growth, and wound healing. Sweet potatoes also contain carotene, which produces its own Vitamin A that fortifies skin.

3 ounces of lean beef. It’s a producer of zinc, which will help produce white blood cells, and can also repair immune cells.

One-half cup of cooked spinach. Spinach has folate in it, which helps with cell production, and it also 13 different antioxidants in it.

1 cup of plain yogurt. It has a healthy dose of a bacteria that helps protect against fungal infections, and a protein that aids in producing white blood cells.

Well, I hope you found this article interesting and helpful. See you all later, and don’t forget to comment!

By the way, if you were wondering how to pronounce the dog’s name in the picture I posted – his name was Aquene – it’s pronounced ah-KWAHN-ay.