Fallingwater

Saturday was a beautiful day here in Pennsylvania. A bright blue sky and warmer than usual temperatures. It was a great day full of fun activities for us. This was one of our more eventful weekends as far as events worth reporting on. Read on for a full review of our happening weekend.

Magee-Womens Hospital
We had our official tour of the hospital where our little munchkin will most probably be born. (how is that for decisive?) I have to say I was impressed. The labor, delivery, recovery rooms were the most impressive. They were big. They not only had a bed, but they also had a bench/couch, chairs, and a whole lot of equipment hidden inside beautiful wooden cabinets. The interior decorating was almost nicer than our apartment. As we left the tour guide said we were headed to the post delivery suite. I was thinking if what we just saw was a room, the suite would have to be really nice. I was disappointed. It was little and didn't feel as homey, just more hospital like. The food is supposed to be great though. Anyway, it was great to get familiar with the hospital. The one big take away I got was I need to prepare for the post birth part. Car seats for the ride home, a doctor for the kid, and how to be a dad. I tend to be falling into school mode for that, meaning I'm planning on cramming between when finals get out and the birth of the baby.

Fallingwater
Wow. That is all I can say. I didn't realize just how close we are, just a short 1 hour drive, I think I will want to go again in the spring. The weather was amazing. We were able to walk comfortably through the nature trails on the grounds and see some good views of the house and observe how it blended into the surrounding environment. The tour of the inside was really fun too. It made me want to learn more about Frank Lloyd Wright. Apparently he hated clutter and designed his houses so it would be hard for his clients to fill his space with junk. He was also all about 'breaking out of the box'. I thought of the Pete Seeger song "Little Boxes".

pete seeger songs
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Anyway, most of the rooms had a part that opened up to the outdoors and made you forget you were in four walls. I especially liked the windows on the corners of the house that could open and the whole corner was open with an unobstructed view. Some other things I liked were the natural swimming pool at the guest house, the stairs that descended into the river, and Edgar Kaufmann, Jr.'s bedroom on the 3rd floor. He placed his bed in the part of the floor with the most windows positioned so when you were laying in bed you were looking out a window into the forest.

Candide
We were invited earlier this week by a couple in our ward to see the musical 'Candide'. Music by Leonard Bernstein, adapted from the book by Voltaire. I guess it is best described as a satire on the philosophies of optimism or the thought that this is the best of all worlds, created by a perfect God, and that everything that happens is the best of all possible things that could happen. There were some pretty funny parts. I found a good broadway version on youtube. You can watch the first part below. You probably want to fastforward to about 3 1/2 minutes in to get past the opening credits and overture.


The group that put on the version we saw is called Quantum Theatre. They are unique in that they don't have a regular theatre where they preform. Instead they move venues for every play they do, and they are usually in unusually places. We heard of them doing shows in cemeteries, out in the woods, and old warehouses. Last night they used an old abandoned car dealership building. They worked in a bunch of car props and references. It was fun. I liked the way they put the stage together. The orchestra (small) was in the middle of the stage like a 'pit crew' and all had on mechanic jumpers. I want to read the book now.

So that was our fun weekend. Now we are off to another fun and busy week. I will be doing some final round interviews and should be hearing back from some employers. Your prayers our welcomed.

Check out our photo album if you want more pictures.