random thoughts – Day 1,725 – (Friday) – snaps

Work was a long and slow day that lasted nearly forever. At 5:00, it was a quick change from jeans and a fleece into black dress pants and the green top with the Taipei tag in it. Lessons were learned. Continuing to eat like I’m still on vacation for the past two months meant that my favorite black pants didn’t fit tonight. They zipped, but only just barely. The legs felt like overstuffed sausage skins and if I sat, there was a high likelihood there would be worsted wool fiber shrapnel everywhere and people could be hurt. I had to wear the second favorite pair which are a bit more forgiving. 

Green top with snaps.

The top, which I really love, fastens entirely by small snaps diagonally from the center neck to the right armpit and down the side. That presented a challenge. 

Every time I moved my right arm the snap in the arm pit and one or two of those below it unfastened. I spent a crazy amount of time with my left hand in my right armpit as I fumbled to refasten the small snaps. I was glad I was wearing a base layer underneath the top. This design quirk may be why the top was in the thrift store where I found it. I will devise a more secure fastening system.

I arrived at Whistler House a few minutes before the start time mostly to increase my odds of scoring a parking spot. I got a glass of wine and tried to juggle it with a plate of cheese and veggies while not moving and causing my top to unsnap. 

Two colleagues arrived and there were many familiar faces in the place. There were artists, collectors, and supporters of the arts, many of whom I recognized from other events and only a few of whom I had a chance to chat with. 

The most famous of all in attendance was Whistler’s mother, who presided over the table of cheese, crackers, veggies, and fruit. She is depicted in a life-size recreation on canvas done by Edith Fairfax Davenport, James McNeill Whistler’s cousin. The original painting by Whistler painting lives in the D’Orsay Museum in Paris, but it’s great there is a version in his birthplace. And yes, I looked all that up.

Wannalancit smokestack tree seen from Merrimack Street.

Across a small courtyard from the 200 year-old main house, the Parker Gallery was filled with dining tables and a room filled with silent auction items. I took a few pictures, and now regret not taking more (common occurrence). From the parking lot on Worthen Street, and again on Merrimack Street, and even from part of my own street, the Wannalancit smokestack tree was visible. It's Lowell's winter equivalent of the Eiffel Tower, visible from many parts of town. 

On the way home, a paramedic SUV and three police cruisers blew by me. At the intersection of University and Pawtucket Street, a firetruck came from another direction and a few more cruisers. I was glad to arrive home where it is quiet.