Soggy azaleas

Friday
I’m finally up to date with my blips, so you may like to check out my last five or six entries!
Our azaleas have had a good drenching yesterday and again this morning, and are beginning to look past their best, so I thought I had better blip them for Flower Friday, before they get any worse! After I’d taken it, I noticed the ant I’d captured in the lower right corner! I had a good chat with my friend E this morning, telling her about our trip. They are going to be out of town next week, so it was good to catch up. Then Roger and I drove downtown to the Art Museum, to see their special exhibition, Paris 1900: City of entertainment. Organized by the Petit Palais Museum of Fine Arts and Paris Museums, the exhibition features more than 200 works, including painting, sculpture, glass, furniture and fashion. Starting with the International Exhibition of 1900 — a world’s fair held to celebrate France’s achievements of the previous century and showcase the next — the featured objects are presented within six themes: “Paris, Showcase of the World,” “Art Nouveau,” “Paris, Capital of the Arts,” “The Parisian Woman,” “The Streets of Paris” and “Paris by Night.” The items about the International Exhibition, including a black and white film strip, were particularly interesting, showing the scale of the event, and thinking how remarkable it must have been for people at that time. We had lunch in their cafe, and whilst we had driven down in pouring rain, by now the sun was shining, which made for a lovely scene overlooking their courtyard with a fountain and several statues. We then enjoyed looking round the rest of the museum - although I have been a couple of times since we returned from France, Roger didn’t think he had - we’ve visited the Taft museum several times together, but not the Art museum - so whilst he remembered some items, others seemed new to him. When we got back home, it was still sunny, so Roger went out for a brisk bike ride round the neighbourhood, while I went for a brisk walk.