Satisfied in Seattle II

Bellevue is a wealthy suburb east of Seattle, on the way from downtown to Lisa's house in Sammamish.  The Bellevue Museum of Arts is one of the great crafts museums of the U.S.  We spent Saturday afternoon, February 1, 2014, at the museum, wandering through its collections, crafts areas, and shop.

Bryce was intrigued by the chair sculpture in the lobby.

Grant played ward basketball games in the morning, but joined us at the museum in the afternoon. 

 

The special exhibit was a display of designer dresses from historical eras, all made of colored paper.  The artistry was amazing.  The museum building was also beautiful, with an infinity pool outside the second floor window, as we looked out at the tall office buildings of Bellevue.

Alyssa and Grant liked window shopping in the gift shop.  If Grant had unlimited funds, he'd buy horn-rimmed glasses and a crocheted winter cap with little bear ears.  On second thought, that hat might look better on his seven-month-old cousin, Sam.

Alyssa, Grant, and Bryce worked on projects in the museum's crafts room.

One of the exhibits was a bit surreal.  This work of art showed a row of doors, all closed, with no human being around.  The same artist created a scale model house looked up tight, but we could peek under the bottom of doors and in peepholes.  Inside were eerie sights like a single crutch or a man sitting alone in an otherwise vacant building, watching TV.  My grandchildren really like modern art, the stranger the better!

Another strange piece was this knitted, human-size suit, with a ski mask hood and knitted-on mittens.  It would just fit Grant.

 

What did the artist intend with this relaxed bunny?

Bryce took these photos of his favorite items in the crafts exhibit--some beautiful, like the wooden chair, and some pretty strange.

We drove across the bridge from downtown to West Seattle, where we took photos of the city, lighted up to celebrate the Seahawks Superbowl game.  The "12" symbolizes the loyal, enthusiastic fans who are the 12th member of the football team.  The lower photo, with a ferry boat passing in front of the lighted Seattle port, was taken from the window of our restaurant, Salty's.  One of the attractions of Salty's is a spectacular view across the water to the Seattle skyline.

We treated ourselves to the three-course chef's special, with cioppino, coconut-crusted shrimp, and cake with raspberry sauce.

Sitting in front of the TV was the place to be on Sunday afternoon, as the Seahawks played the Broncos in the Superbowl.  The Flindts were invited to the home of their friends, the Fishers.  Sister Fisher is Kirsten's teacher in YoungWomen, Paul Fisher is Grant's good friend, and Brother Fisher is an ER doctor who has offered to let Grant "shadow" him at Swedish Hospital, as Grant prepares to go to medical school.

Sister Fisher's mother was a charming 75-year-old with a big apple farm in Yakima and lots of potential boyfriends.  She enjoyed having another grandma to talk with (me).

 

We were equally serious about the Superbowl game and the great food at the Fishers' house--homemade pizza, fresh salads and fruit, and homemade guacamole.  The Seahawks beat the Broncos in a landslide, so it was a great afternoon.