Floors, museums

Spent most of today putting down yet more floorboards, most of yesterday on Verizon stuff. Really have not spent much time in the last month or so on this work as we've been working intensively on the house in all my non-VZ time, with a few days break for family visits and a trip with the kids to NYC this week. Went to the Greek and Roman gallery at the Metropolitan and walked through Central Park from there down to 59th St. Everything was blooming, people laying out in the sun in that first warm day after unbelievably cold winter. Just finished the last part of the floors we could do with the power nailer, so it is now wending its way back to Home Depot Tool Rental with our best wishes.

Re the Greek and Roman exhibit, in the few minutes we actually got to spend looking at the vessels, reliefs, statues, etc. (hard to really tune in with the kids there), struck me again how much all we have been doing is trying to recreate the depth of expression and longevity of meaning that these artisans were doing 3000 years ago. I remember how strongly this first hit me when I was wandering around the Ellora caves in India in 1986, thinking "we haven't gotten anywhere beyond where these people were."

The day before Debbie and I had gone to the Matisse/Picasso exhibit at the New Museum of Modern Art, a few minutes from where we used to live in Sunnyside. Two art museums in two days! That brings the total of the last ten years or so up to maybe ten. It was too crowded and a little rushed, but terrific to see Demoiselles d'Avignon, Girl Before a Mirror, Three Musicians and so many more in the flesh. I didn't get to do what I usually do, which is go through the whole exhibit once then go back to the few that really spoke to me, so nothing much interesting to say.