The Mission Tour--SLAM! IMAGINE PEACE

It's a slam dunk getting to go to the St Louis Art Museum. You've got to love a city that shares it's culture and history for free. It's been called a "family friendly city." This is why: the zoo entrance is free. The science center is free. And the art museum. FREE. That's right in my budget.
It was built as a Palace to the Arts for the 1904 World's Fair. They just don't make beautiful buildings like that anymore. Sigh.



Ancient art



Modern art

The difference between cultures is interesting, don't you think? The modern art is a representation of heaven and earth. Earth is the broken glass on the floor.

I felt like a little school girl getting to go from room to room viewing, in person, artists whom I've admired their work - or thought their lives sad, or interesting. In van Gogh's apples, his wide brush stokes give away the fact that he painted them.

The Dreamer, by Pierre August Renoir was thought a bit "saucy" back in 1879.




Georges-Pierre Seurat

I got to see Seurat's pointillism up close and personal. By the end of the day, I had my own museum staff keeping an eye on me from room to room. Hey. How was I supposed to know that the line of dark brown wood embedded in the floor was the "stand back" line?

Water Lilies

How could any art museum tour be complete without a picture of Claude Monet's Water Lilies? This is part of a triptych. The other water lily paintings are in Kansas City and Cleveland. And  yes, I had my nose right up to the painting. Without touching it, of course. It's the fault of my glasses, and my "over 40 eyes."

Wishing Tree

When Yoko Ono was a girl growing up in Japan, there was a wishing tree in the temple courtyards. This follows a similar theme, yet on a grander scale. Visitors write a wish on a tag and tie it to one of the three trees. Periodically, the museum staff take the wishes down and put them in a clear acrylic bin just inside the door.
This is only one of many of her Wish projects. Following her instructions, the wishes will join others, now totaling over one million, at her Imagine Peace tower in Iceland. Here, she celebrates, and keeps in memory, her late husband, John Lennon. Every year the tower is lit on Lennon's birthday, October 9th through December 8th, the day he was shot.
Click this Google link to see some spectacular pictures of the Imagine Peace tower:
https://www.google.com/search?gs_rn=26&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=LdyogzW9v51vaJp3Ohnl8w&cp=7&gs_id=q&xhr=t&q=imagine+peace+tower+in+reykjav%C3%ADk+iceland&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.52164340,d.b2I&biw=1366&bih=648&dpr=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=gfE0UtCkNeeY2wX20IHwCw

CATHEDRAL BASILICA

I felt a bit awkward going into the Cathedral Basilica wearing my missionary tag. But we were told that it was one of THE places to see in St Louis. We got there a little before the tour started. I took advantage of the time by taking pictures in the foyer.
There are several mosaics there depicting the life of King/St Louis of France.

St Louis before leaving for the Crusades.

I'd heard of the crusades, of course, but was excited to see someone who had actually gone. During his lifetime King Louis actually bought the crown of thorns worn by Christ from Emperor Baldwin ll in approximately 1239. King Louis died during his second crusade, in August 1270

From the back, looking forward.

 The mosaics are all on the upper part of the cathedral and the ceiling. They depict lives of people who have done good things in this life, the apostles, and special events.

This is looking toward the front doors.

The striped layers depict earth. We're down on earth. The people in the mosaics are in heaven.

The mosaics above were made by Tiffany Studios. They are my favorite. They have a soft look that gives them the appearance of tapestries.

The highest dome. Not seen from the outside.

The rest of the mosaics were constructed in the Byzantine style that uses the rich colors. The cathedral turns off the lights for tours because the lighting distracts from the beautiful mosaics. The white in the circle are windows letting filtered light. In the Byzantine style, the craftsmen put the glass down and before it's dry, they hammer it in places to make the tiles uneven. That's why the tiles with gold-leaf under them shimmer as in the picture above.

I was glad that we went. It was very interesting, and I can't remember it all. They have special events here throughout the year, including a Christmas choir. I'd love to go. I imagine the sounds would be breathtaking.

HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW

Dinner and a Movie.
This song was sung at St. Louis South stake's conference this past weekend. The spirit gave a strong confirmation that the Lord does watch over us. Listen to this and know that you are loved more than you can know.

GRILLED SALMON

1 1/2 lb salmon fillets

lemon pepper, to taste

garlic powder, to taste

salt, to taste,

1/3 C. soy sauce

1/3 C brown sugar

1/3 C water

1/3 C vegetable oil

Directions

1.   Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.

2.   In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

3.   Preheat grill for medium heat.

4.   Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

 

MISSION TRIVIA

The first thing a person should do on their mission, is get to know the area, and then get to loving the people. It hasn’t been hard loving the people of St Louis. They’re all so nice. Most of the members
treat us as though we’re angels sent from heaven, and thank us over and over again for our service.

It makes me a bit nervous since I don’t think we’ve done anything overly special. After all, we’ve just barely been here four weeks now. We’re just getting to know our responsibilities, and don’t have them down pat yet.

 

Here we are at Ted Drews. Could anything be finer?



We’ve been going to two wards each week and introducing ourselves. Our years of moving from one place to another have prepared me for this activity. I’m used to going into a ward and not knowing anyone. As I look back on my life I can see the Lord’s hand in preparing us for our mission in a lot of different ways.

In turn, we’ve had angels come to us. The first two are Rock and Joy Erekson. I’ve never met a lovelier couple. They’re gracious and kind, and generous.

Randy (right) w/ the Ereksons
 

You gotta love people whose favorite activity is going out for frozen custard! It's so yummy, everyone just stands outside and eats it. The city put up a railing between the sidewalk and the street so that when there's a crowd, they don't go into the street and get hurt.

 

Saint Louis, the King and Crusader

After the ice cream, they took us to see the sights until it was our bedtime. This is actually across the street from the art museum.

 



The St Louis Art Museum.

This building was build for the 1905 World's Fair. It's pretty amazing. Why don't they build pretty buildings anymore?