We received a lovely invitation to spend a few days at the Chautauqua Institute last week. We had been there several times, but it had been 11 years since our last visit. We remembered it as a magical place, and this visit confirmed it again. The Institute hosts nine weeks of lectures and entertainment. Each week is theme-based and we were lucky enough to be there for Week 7:

“Grace: A Celebration of Extraordinary Gifts — A Week in Partnership with Krista Tippett and “On Being”

Be it emotional, physical or spiritual, grace takes many forms. It exists in the way we treat one another, the way in which we move through the world, and the way in which we use our gifts, our grace, to lift up others.

• Grace, as defined by religious terms, is the means by which we receive an unearned gift, one we’re not worthy of. Beyond religion, what does grace look like in the secular world?
• When is grace difficult? In talking across differences? In compromise? In the face of adversity? We look at the moments in which grace is most needed.
• How can we go out into the world, actively moving with more grace throughout our own lives?

Interfaith Lecture Theme :: Grace: A Celebration of Extraordinary Gifts

There are many ways of defining or explaining the idea of Grace. Grace is thought to be something we receive, something we give, something we are, and something we do. In this week we will hear stories from four traditions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Humanism – exploring how each tradition perceives, interprets, and lives Grace.”

I’ve read two of Krista Tippet’s books, Speaking of Faith: Why Religion Matters and How to Talk About It, and Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living.  I loved both of them, and reread the first one when my interfaith book group picked it for one of our group discussions. All her conversations last week will be recorded for her On Being podcast which I can also heartily recommend. My two favorite interviews last week were with Richard Blanco and Serene Jones. I’m not familiar with a lot of poets, but it feels like I should have known about Richard Blanco since he was the inaugural poet at Barack O’Bama’s second inauguration. He read from his most recent book of poetry, How to Love a Country. Tracy reads even less poetry than I do, but he downloaded the Audible version of the book right after the lecture. I had already read Serene Jones memoir, Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World, and was delighted to have an opportunity to hear her speak.

The morning lectures take place in the Amphitheater which just had a huge renovation. They maintained the historic look of it, but upgraded all the seating and the sound system among other improvements. There is an evening arts presentation each night as well.

Our favorite evening presentation was the renowned Paul Taylor dance company. Thanks to our hostess, we also saw a charming production of The Fantasticks. Since JoAnn lives at the Institute all summer she’s able to be a sponsor to one of the many students who study music, dance, and theater in the summer program. The student she sponsored this summer had the lead in the production, and I know we probably would have missed it if not for JoAnn. I saw the musical at least once growing up and maybe twice. I’ve always loved the music, and all the lyrics came right back to me.

At 2:00 Monday-Thursday there is a lecture at the Hall of Philosophy.

Last week each of the speakers talked on the topic of grace from different perspectives: Monday’s speaker was Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Tuesday was Barbara Brown Taylor, Wednesday was Dr. Abdullah Daar, and Thursday was Katherine Ozment—representing the Jewish faith, the Christian faith, the Muslim faith, and a humanist, secular perspective. I’ve read many of Barbara Brown Taylor’s books. Her most recent one, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others was probably the most popular book my interfaith book group has read, and our church recently completed a three-part Sunday Seminar on the book. Before we went to Chautauqua, I read Katherine Ozment’s book, Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age, and liked it very much. 

The grounds of Chautauqua are lovely. There are many old homes, almost all with wonderful porches.

This is the back of the Anthenaeum, the old and quite expensive hotel on the grounds. There are many kinds of accommodations. We stayed at the Ministers Union (now renamed) the first time we came. The rooms were spare, you brought your own linens, and cooked in a communal kitchen. When we returned later we stayed at a lovely hotel with a large porch. Each room had a microwave and a tiny refrigerator so we always prepared breakfast and lunch in our rooms.

There are beautiful flowers everywhere:

And then there is the location of the Institute—right on Chautauqua Lake:

The Miller Bell Tower

The first two times we went to Chautauqua was in the mid-1990’s and our kids were in elementary and middle school. One of my favorite activities with them was playing shuffle board. When we first returned in the early 2000’s I missed them terrible every time we walked by the Sports Club which also sits right on the lake.

Our hostess owns a lovely home on the north end of the Institute. We’d never been out there, but it was an easy 15 minute walk back and forth. In addition to spending time with JoAnn, we had several other friends who were there for the week as well, and were lucky enough to meet up with them twice for conversation at the apartment of one of our mutual friends. It couldn’t have been a much more enjoyable week. The only drawback (and not one the diminished any of our pleasures) were intermittent thunderstorms every day except Monday. On Tuesday the wind blew the rain through the Hall of Philosophy so even if you were seated inside (we were), you got wet. Barbara Brown Taylor just carried on through it all although she had to hold on tightly to her papers, and I’m quite sure she got wet as well.

I have a few more photos to share when the final link for the Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt gets posted, and you’ll see a couple of these again. 

We had a lovely weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The weather was hot and humid, but not so oppressive that you couldn’t enjoy being outside. We visited a couple of our favorite wineries, saw two terrific shows at the Shaw Festival, and enjoyed some excellent food. A good way to celebrate our 46th anniversary! On Saturday afternoon we saw The Lady Killers, an hilarious farce about five musicians who plot a robbery using a little old lady as a foil. Needless to say, the little old lady is the winner at the end. On Sunday afternoon we enjoyed an excellent production of the musical, Brigadoon. Everything about it was first rate—the voices, the dancers, the set, the costumes—just delightful!

While we were there I set off to do another photowalk. Most of the photos were taken on Saturday. I found three more items for the Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt, but you’ll have to wait for the upcoming link-up for those. For the most part, I stayed away from photographs of flowers since my last two Photowalks from Nantucket were exclusively florals.

This photo of Old Fort Niagara on the United States side of the Niagara River was taken on Friday evening after we’d eaten too much for dinner and needed to walk it off! As was this photo:

Saturday morning we strolled through town, visited a winery, and had lunch at one of my new favorites: The Farmhouse Restaurant at Caroline Cellars. I had my favorite meal there, a seasonal salad of spinach, feta cheese, fresh sliced peaches, candied pecans, and red onion slices with a honey balsamic dressing. I’m hoping to replicate it when two friends come to lunch next month.

It will be awhile before the grapes are ready to harvest, but the peaches were ripe and featured in nearly every farm stand. Sadly, we’re not allowed to transport produce or any living plant across the border. (One of my first stops this morning was to our local farmstand to buy some peaches.)

Here are some shots that caught my eye as we walked through town:

I couldn’t totally resist taking a few photos of the gorgeous flowers that are everywhere in town.

Saturday night we had dinner at Strewn Winery. We hadn’t eaten there in many years, but it was lovely. We had a coupon for a free dessert which we shared. It tasted as good as it looks:

After dinner, we went to Ryerson Park to watch the sunset.

The last photo is technically not part of the photowalk. Sunday morning after we checked out of our B&B we went for a drive. We happened upon a large freighter going through a lock on the Welland Canal. The fact that these huge ships can get from the Atlantic Ocean and through the Great Lakes via a series of canals is always mind-boggling to me.

We’re only home for a week before we head off again on another adventure. When the summer began, the weekend in NOTL was the only trip planned. Both the trip to Nantucket and the upcoming trip to The Chautauqua Institute were surprise gifts—in more ways than one.

We had an unexpected opportunity to join Matt, Betsy, and the girls for a few days in Nantucket last week. As always, it was a wonderful time spent with family. Nantucket is truly a magical place. We were staying within walking distance of town this year, and since driving and parking in Nantucket can be challenging, we walked into town nearly every day. Each day I chose a different focus for my photowalk. The flowers of Nantucket are truly amazing, and many, many people have window boxes planted with beautiful flowers. This is a very heavy photo post, so I won’t do any commenting. However, beyond enjoying the flowers, I’m taking note of color combinations and flower combinations for my pots at home next year.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the stroll down several of the residential streets in Nantucket. Are there any color/flower combinations that speak to you?