“Back in 5 Minutes:” The Museum of Everyday Life

Can they borrow your notes?

Are you a maker/user/lover of lists? My morning begins with the daily to-do list, handwritten in pen in a spiral-bound appointment book or in the margin of yesterday’s newspaper. How else would I get the satisfaction, in the late evening, of checking off every item, or if not accomplished, reluctantly moving the errant task to the following day?

Lists are one form of “notes,” and the Museum of Everyday Life wants yours, and it seems, the one you found discarded in a shopping cart last Saturday. And maybe the ancient post-it note edging itself over the top of your computer screen. The museum is a funky little outpost of creativity in Glover, VT, well worth the trip especially if you pair it with a stop at Parker Pie. In past years, the museum has curated an exhibition devoted to Scissors, and another to Knots. “Its mission is a heroic, slow-motion cataloguing of the quotidian–a detailed, theatrical expression of gratitude and love for the miniscule and unglamorous experience of daily life in all its forms.” It is in the gathering stage of its upcoming exhibition, Lists and Notes, scheduled to open in July.

The Museum of Everyday Life is soliciting submissions for its upcoming exhibition featuring Lists and Notes, which will open on Saturday, July 17th, 2021 at 1:00pm. The Museum also invites Community Participation in the exhibit installation. Lists and notes can be so many things – sociological artifacts, poems, containers of obscure stories. They can be richly laden with personal resonances, or cold reflections of an entirely impersonal world. We will consider lists of all kinds – To Dos, Grocery Lists, Instruction Lists, Inventories, Packing lists, Guest Lists, Attendance Lists, Lists of Ingredients, Waiting Lists, Set Lists, not to mention the notorious Bucket List! We welcome Footnotes, Love notes, Endnotes, Break Up Notes, Memos, Research Notes – so don’t be shy – send in random odd notes you come across in daily life, even standard classics like “back in five minutes” – we consider a note to be any kind of brief (mostly handwritten) message. (from the museum’s website. Click here for more information.)

Photo by Susan B. Apel. Caption from the museum’s website: “A self-service museum, open 8 AM – 8 PM daily, turn on the lights when you enter, and don’t forget to turn off the lights when you depart! Donations are accepted at the door, and the space is not heated, so wear a coat if it is cold!”

As for “notes,” would than any of ours be as charming as that of Grant Wood (above), thrilled that his as yet unknown painting “American Gothic” was accepted into “the American show.” It’s not at the museum, but who knows what else you’ll find there?

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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.