A Visit to Big D

Ricky and I are unabashedly old school in many ways, so the fact that recent trips we made to Dallas, a three hour drive from our home in Shreveport, were related to the repair of two stereo speakers--the big, bulky, heavy kind of speakers, perfect for listening to CDs, vinyl records or Pandora--should surprise no one. Unfortunately, Ricky could find no one in Shreveport who repairs this type of speaker but he identified a small shop in Dallas, called the store to discuss the specific problem, and decided to plan a trip to deliver the speakers.

Our first trip to deliver the speakers was a day trip.  We dropped off the speakers, then went to eat at Smoky Rose, a new barbecue restaurant I had read about on-line. It turned out to be just a short drive away. We loved the Smoky Rose and the food. There was an outdoor dining space that seemed to scream “happy hour” and a covered patio area, plus the regular dining room.  We opted for the best of both—patio dining but with a roof.  Rain was predicted and employees were hustling to cover all the outdoor furniture with tarps before we finished eating.  This first time we ate at Smoky Rose, I ended up with so much food—a salad with big chunks of blue cheese in the dressing, plus a barbecue sandwich topped with jalapeno coleslaw.  

Smoky Rose is attractively decorated with succulents everywhere, including a plant growing in the soap dish of the farm-style sink in the ladies’ room. The restaurant is conveniently located directly across from the Dallas Arboretum.

After we ate, as the line of thunderstorms moved into the city, we drove to the Dallas Museum of Art to see several popular exhibits, including a Mexico exhibit that featured the works of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Jose Clemente Orozco, among others. We had already purchased tickets to this exhibit to insure we would see it.

We ducked through the museum doors as the rain started.  The Mexico exhibit occupied several floors so we started on the top floor and worked our way down.  It wasn’t until we reached the ground floor that we found the more famous works by the three artists mentioned on the banner. The top floor exhibits featured historic artifacts that were interesting, but we were glad to locate the paintings we had come to see.

I loved the vibrant colors and the variety of styles and influences.  Art students were wandering through the galleries studying and discussing the paintings. One older lady was a self-appointed tour guide leading her friends through and providing great detail on the social-cultural milieu as well as the paintings themselves.  I wanted to read more about the artists amidst the background of their lives and the events of the times, but our time was limited. I needed to get back to Shreveport for a friend’s birthday celebration that evening.

I’m going to include photos of some of the paintings. The ones by Frida Kahlo are fairly obvious, and I’m not going to name all the other artists because I can't.  I have some photos of the description cards but not all.  Moreover, are the description cards to be paired with the paintings before or after the descriptions? I’m not sure I had a system. 

Here are some of my favorite paintings from the exhibit.  Which ones do you like?

Rivera mural

Double image by Kahlo of her and Diego Rivera

 

Ricky has a huge poster of the painting above hanging in his study.  We bought the poster years ago when we saw this painting in another exhibit. Here he is communing with the original.

Our next Dallas trip was to pick up our repaired speakers. More on that mini-adventure later.

One Weekend--Many Events

This past weekend found us back at the Red River Revel on Saturday to hear some Arkansas musicians, the four time Grammy-nominated Trout Fishing in America, followed by Dana Louise and the Glorious Birds. Dana Louise is the daughter of one of the Trout Fishing musicians, and both the guys play in her band.  Follow the links to hear some of  the music of Trout Fishing and Dana Louise.

 

Keith and Ezra, Trout Fishing in America, at Red River Revel 2016

In addition to music, there was more eating--etouffee for Ricky and Zwolle tamales for me.  Okay, I confess, we also ate ice cream but only to provide the energy needed to browse through the other half of the artist tents that we hadn't seen before.

We then went home to watch another Tennessee football game.  The pixie dust was blowing hither and yon, but Tennessee lost to Texas A & M in the second overtime. Note to the Vols: You can’t turn over the ball 7 times in a game and hope to win. 

On Sunday after a brunch of pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream at one of our popular neighborhood diners, Ricky and I headed out to the Highland Open Studio Tour Sunday (HOSTS) event, admiring the art at four studios. I bought a gorgeous silk shawl embedded with felted leaves from Fibre to Felt Wearable Art.  I’m looking forward to wearing it this fall.

Silk shawl with felted leaves

After HOSTS, we headed home to chill (literally and figuratively) before attending the Shreveport House Concert in our neighborhood.  Sunday night’s concert featured Grammy-nominated Hawaiian slack-key guitarist, singer, songwriter Stephen Inglis.  At the concert, we learned that slack-key is a specific way of tuning and playing a guitar.  Inglis featured many of songs he wrote, but he also covered other artists.  Inglis was born and raised in Hawaii and speaks Hawaiian so he also sings traditional Hawaiian songs as part of his repertoire.  Stephen's latest CD is Learning You By Heart.

Hawaiian Slack Key Guitarist Stephen Inglis

Ricky and I feel our dance cards are plenty full in Shreveport.  I know we are baby boomers, which designates our age bracket, but it seems to us that Shreveport in the fall is a happening place.