Vincent Van Gogh

 

It's amazing how we get into our little routines, and it's hard to vary from them. I have a morning routine that's pretty standard until 9 AM. Then who knows what the day will bring!

What a great Christmas Day! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi on Zoom. It seemed a bit weird to be sharing Christmas Day with people that I normally wouldn't talk to on Christmas Day, but hey - we were all stuck in our houses, and so why not? I even got some sewing on the machine done!

Phone calls with family members, a movie in the evening with the girls and boy, family, and a great Christmas dinner consisting of THREE different entrees for three different dietary preferences. Yikes!!

Here's the weird thing - we paid $30 to watch WW84, a fairly new movie or was it just released. A lot cheaper than if we had gone to the actual theatre. We rented it from Cineplex, and somehow it appeared on our TV. It's totally crazy how things are changing because of COVID. Perhaps, this will be a thing of the future. I wouldn't pay $30 to watch a movie on my own when I can go to the theatre for $8 (on Tuesday), but when there were three of us - it was worth it. 

And now it's back to reality! I'm making great progress on my Cherrywood Challenge, which has to be done with photos submitted by the end of the year. I don't want to leave it until the last moment, so that will be the focus for the next couple of days. It's definitely a challenge to work with only three shades of pink and white. I wasn't sure if I was going to get enough contrast. I put part of it on the design wall this morning, and OH MY GOSH - it's exactly as I envisioned it would be. I'm happy!

I'll be plugging in my audiobook later today and sewing away to my heart's content as I try to get most of the top done today. Let's just say that it's fiddly and time-consuming, but I think the end result will be amazing. 

Let me tell you about our experience the other night at the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit. Normally, you would buy a ticket per person, park your car, and enter the exhibit to be totally immersed in the show. Since that's not possible at this time, they've arranged for you to drive into the exhibit and stay in your car. I think that even the drive-in show has been postponed at the moment as we enter into lockdown. 

We bought tickets for three people and drove downtown, where we had to wait in line for a bit to enter. Holy - I'm not downtown very much, and there are condos everywhere. What about those two in front of us? Would you like to live on the edge?? That overhang just looks awkward. 

Waiting in the line

They are VERY explicit about the size of your car.  That includes length and clearance. Hmmm - OK. I thought it was for inside the show, but it's for getting to the show. They've installed a ramp on one of the loading docks. It's fairly short, steep, and narrow. I can imagine that they've had a LOT of issues with that ramp! It wasn't so steep on the way up, but you could definitely feel the pitch on the way down. 

Driving up the ramp to the loading dock

The cars are parked in two rows. The guy who assisted with the parking has probably seen it all! But he did an excellent job of getting everyone inside. We got to face the wall with the pipes, but that's OK. 

The screen

As we sat waiting for the show to start, we heard a motor. OH my - the wall behind us got lowered. We drove under that wall when we entered. That wall was smooth and would have been a better screen, but hey - it doesn't matter. 

The wall getting lowered behind us

Then the show started. It was amazing. The paintings came to life on the huge screen (wall in front of us) and on the sides and behind. It wasn't the same as if you were in person where you could see the entire scene around you, but it was fascinating, just the same. M, who was smart, opened the sunroof and poked her head out, so she got 360 views. She took a couple of videos, which were breathtaking. 

The Van Gogh show

They had beautiful, haunting music playing. We opened the car's windows (masks required for that), so we didn't need to listen to the music on the car radio. 

Another scene 

It was hard to see exactly, but I think there were four projectors with one working on each wall. The images on the front wall and the sides were different. It looks like a very complicated process to pull the paintings apart and merge them together and make them move, and there were times when you really thought you were moving. It was crazy!!!

More of the wrap-around screen

I wonder how long the show is when you get to stand in person? It was short enough that they had us in and out of the building in one hour. But that was long enough. Here's a picture of us driving out of the room - where the wall had been lifted enough for the cars to exit. It's a brilliant set-up. 

Driving under the moveable wall

So was it worth it? I'd say yes. It's disappointing not being able to see the 360 views when you're in the car. BUT - you get a free ticket (off-peak hours) to visit the show in person when that is allowed. And I'd go back and see that show in person. It was a great outing, safe, and a great way to do something when there's not much else we can do. 

It was a very foggy night, and you could barely see the CN Tower as we drove past!!

The CN Tower

So here's what I learned about Google Maps. Even though I'm doing the Appalachian Trail Virtual Challenge that doesn't have a street view, you can drag the little yellow Google guy onto the nearest road. Oh yes - I want to drive this road or hike that trail. It would be amazing!!!! That road is Clingman's Dome Road, which is closed from December to April. 

Clingman's Dome Road

The Virtual Challenge map

So if you got a jigsaw puzzle for Christmas, raise your hand. I got one. Shoot - I forgot to take a picture of it, and I've been working on the one I have laid out. It's tough! I had to rearrange a "few" pieces yesterday to make everything fit. I'll be working on that today when I need a break from the Cherry Wood Challenge. 

Speaking of Van Gogh and the Cherrywood Challenge, I made a quilt for the Cherrywood Challenge in 2017 when the theme was Van Gogh. My piece did not get selected for the show, but that's OK. I'm happy with it. 

My Cherrywood Challenge for the 2017 theme of Van Gogh 

There's a book that you can buy with all the quilts from the show. I think someone borrowed it to read in bed as it was on the kitchen table yesterday!

I see it snowed again last night. Not as much as the previous night. I guess I'll be shoveling the driveway again. THat snow yesterday was wet and heavy - thank goodness, it got shoveled because it would be ICE this morning. 

Well, that's it for today. I'm going to sew all day while listening to an audiobook.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!