The Campbell House and the MAC

Wilhelm and I went to the Campbell House in Browne’s Addition this morning to a working meeting of the Spokane Preservation Advocates. Some folks painted, others put up window shades, and we put labels on scented soaps that will be sold in the Museum of Arts and Culture gift shop.

Patti Larkin, the Campbell House curator, invited some of us to visit the store rooms and carpenter’s shop at the MAC. They are preparing for an exhibit of Cars and Costumes in April and Laura Thayer, the curator of collections, showed us some of the clothes that will be exhibited, which date from the 1890s to the 1970s. I was surprised at the size of their collection. (They have more shoes than Imelda Marcos.)

We sat and looked at Mt Spokane, which was doing a Mt Fuji imitation, until the museum opened, then we saw the exhibit of Indian baskets, which opened a week ago. What beautiful objects these are! I was surprised at the delicacy of them. Some look like they are done in needlepoint. There are carrying baskets, storage baskets, winnowing baskets, basket-like hats, water-tight baskets used to drink from, and even some baskets used to cook in. (Water was put inside and then hot rocks were added along with the food.) Most of them were made about a hundred years ago.

Now I should list for you some books about old houses, museums, the history of clothes, snow-capped mountains, and baskets. But I have none of those to offer today. Instead of cruising my data base, library catalogs, and on-line bookstores I spent my afternoon looking over some new books from the library, including the new novel by Julian Barnes, ARTHUR & GEORGE (2005), and THE CHOCOLATE CONNOISSEUR: For Everyone with a Passion for Chocolate (2005), by Chloe Doutre-Roussel, who was a chocolate buyer for Fortnum and Mason, and who claims she maintains her 100-lb figure whilst eating a pound of chocolate every day. I wonder if she eats anything else. They do say FRENCH WOMEN DON’T GET FAT (2004, by Mirielle Guiliano.)