Seeking distraction in the twinkly lights of Christmas

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beauty, Christmas, lights, postaday2015

   
 
My mother and I went into the city to have lunch at Vesso’s, the thin crust pizza place we adore, and afterwards we walked to Lord and Taylor’s, Macy’s and Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas Windows and the lights decorating everything from the trees, to the windows and the storefronts. This did in fact give me a few hours distraction from dwelling on the questions swirling around my brain. I haven’t heard yet from the doctor as to when my ultrasound is scheduled, so I still don’t know how deep the tumor is embedded in my esophagus, and not knowing exactly what lies around the corner in 2016 is a little unsettling. So I am grateful for the holidays because I don’t think there can be a better distraction than Santa, beautiful decorations, the Christmas spirit  and friends and family. I am grabbing these distractions by the lapel and embracing them fully.

   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
There is so much talent and creativity evident in these stunning windows at Lord & Taylor’s, they are a tourist attraction themselves during the holiday season. The crowds weren’t unruly, everyone seemed to be in mellow moods, I wonder if the mild weather had any bearing on the good spirits?

Today was another good day.

Daily prompt: Absolute beauty

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beauty, pictures, postaday2014

We’ve all heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Do you agree? is all beauty contingent on a subjective point of view?

I think that the saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” holds true to personal beauty; when the personality, character and soul emerge from within and show themselves to others enhancing the physical outer shell. The saying works because human life and beauty is fleeting, it fades whereas the personality, character and soul endure for as long as life endures. However when it comes to sunrises, a magnificent piece of architecture, or a flower, I think that beauty can be objective or at least generally agreed upon by the masses maybe because those types of beauty are timeless, you can often see more than one and they don’t fade with time.

I think that the reason beauty is so important is because it speaks to us on a primal level and we seek it out. I know that gazing up at a spectacular star filled night sky fills me with awe, peace and well being. The same can be said of gorgeous sunrises and sunsets or fields of sunflowers or a bunch of adorable puppies; I feel happy, relaxed and right with the world in that moment. I think that it is precisely appreciating that moment that makes beauty important, when you are taking the time to stare and capture the moment it puts you in the present, in the moment and that is something that isn’t of the norm for many of us. Our lives are mostly on the go, busy, busy with things that need to be done, should be done, had to be paid or purchased, that any time you can stand still and bask in a moment of beauty it’s something to be cherished.

Now this is an Azalea!

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beauty, blue sky, flowers, postaday2014, sunlight

This morning I was walking Jack to Astoria Park and I had to stop and take pictures of the sky; the sheer blue of it was not just intense, but so clear, not a cloud to be found for as far as my eyes could see. After the past week of not just grey skies; but light grey skies, medium grey skies, dark grey skies and very angry grey skies, seeing all of the BLUE was such a beautiful and wondrous thing.

On the way back to my mother’s house, I did a double take because there not two blocks from her house was the biggest Azalea that I have ever seen in my life. It was absolutely magnificent.

It is days like today that give my heart hope and my soul with light. The darkness that lingers underneath is pushed further down by the infinite lightness that sun, clear blue skies and gorgeous blooms brings to my psyche. I felt such a strong need to share all of this beauty with you.

Daily prompt : The eye of the beholder

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beauty, composers, music, postaday2013

Describe what it feels like to hear a beautiful piece of music or see a stunning piece of art.

When my sister and I were growing up, especially when we were living on 24th Street, every weekend morning, I remember waking up to the musical compositions of Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach and Tchaickovsky and sometimes to shake things up an opera or two. My father was the one who manned the record player and because of him, I love classical music. Do I have a favorite? I can’t say. When I was little I remember seeing Fantasia at the movies and that led to a love affair with Tchaikovsky and then when I got to high school I went towards Bach, Brahms and Grieg, darker more somber pieces, these two composers suited my rebellious teenage spirit.

Luciano Pavarotti became a crush at some point during high school. My father used to play the album “King of the High C’s” and I was hooked. The power inherent in his voice and the beauty coming forth from his lips set goose bumps up and down my spine. His voice brought my soul to places that were magical, his talent was singular and spectacular.

Then I feel in love with Beethoven, how can you not? The movie “Immortal Beloved” is a guide to Beethoven’s music and there is such love, passion and fervor in his music. His genius transports me to beyond thinking, to just feeling the music wash over me and pluck at my heart. It is another magical experience.

I am in awe of these genius’ and I feel so lucky to have the appreciation that my parents instilled in me.

Your favorite piece of art?

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arts, beauty, postaday2012, style

Do you have a favorite work of art?

April 14, 2012

Favorite Piece of Art

Degas dancer from back

There are a few that I have narrowed down, I love sculpture and Rodin was a genius and I adore the Thinker. I love adore Degas’s paintings of the ballet students. Degas also made the bronze statue of the young ballerina. Degas really captured the grace and beauty of those young ballerina’s, the beauty tugs at your heart, you feel the painter’s loneliness when he paints them from a hidden place.

Nervous about tomorrow so I’m posting another snippet of my book in progress.

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beauty, fashion, postaday2012

Tomorrow is my biopsy and I am nervous, I have a pit in my stomach so I am cheating and throwing out a bit of my novel for you to read. I hope that you enjoy it even though it comes out of context and is standing alone.

The weekend came and went without any fanfare. The same family rituals, Saturday morning we all go to the Marche, I spend all of Saturday helping Maman cleaning, cooking and baking. Gabrielle and the girls are out. Sunday we all eat together with Sabine and Hortense as usual. The only thing that keeps me from getting depressed when I see that life is always the same is that next weekend is the spectacle with Josephine Baker at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. I need to make more plans because I feel as if life is passing me by and I’ll turn around one day and ask myself where time went.

It is finally time for our final fitting, Sabine and I race to her apartment and we see both silk dresses just waiting for us on the mannequins. “Oh my goodness Sabine, they are so beautiful! Hortense you are a fairy godmother.” I turn to Sabine “how did you not try your dress on until now? I couldn’t have waited.” Sabine says “I couldn’t because this is the first time that I have seen them up on the mannequins, Maman has been very secretive and I didn’t want to jinx the dresses anyway. Best to let the master seamstress work without being bothered, don’t you think?” “ Sabine you have more patience than I, but I’m so glad that you left your Maman alone because these are exquisite.”

Hortense comes out from her room carrying all the accessories and starts to tell us to undress so that she can begin the fittings. She says “I bought out all the costume jewelry and the sautoir and feathers so that you girls get a really good idea of what the final result will look like for Saturday night.” I said “Sabine why don’t you go first, I am dying to see you in that beautiful corn blue silk to see how your eyes look with the dress’s color” As Sabine put on the dress being very careful not to get stuck by any of the pins you can see that Hortense has made her dresses so often because it fit perfectly. It does pay to have a seamstress as a Maman. The dress was so simple, Sabine’s dress was just below the knee and she had two slits at the drop waist line so that when doing the Charleston her dress would go back and forth. Hortense had added right at the waist a belt of long shimmering fringe all around the dress that caught the light and moved with the dress, it looked so pretty. The dress was sleeveless and Sabine to dress up her arms had gotten ten bangles and a long rope of pearls to dress her neck up. She also purchased sparkly hair pins to catch the light all around her face. Sabine looked like a vision of elegance. “Sabine wait until Guillaume sees you; he is going to not let you out of his sight for a single minute. He is going to be rendered speechless by your beauty.”