Known as a symbol of protection, Japanese parents often receive a small statue of an Akita when their child is born. The Akita is not only a symbol of protection, but also one of health, happiness, and long life. – hillspet.com
Meet our newest family member, Kimiko – but we call her Kimmie! She is a beautiful Japanese Akita rescue dog who is nearly two years old. She weighs about 65 pounds and has a fluffy, thick coat of fur. She is a devoted guard dog and very affectionate to those she knows and accepts.
Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it. – Vincent van Gogh
The Kröller-Müller Museum is located in Otterlo, the Netherlands in the Hoge Veluwe National Park. I have wanted to visit this museum for many years because of its stunning collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, particularly those of van Gogh. However, the trip there appeared to be somewhat daunting – one train to Ede-Wageningen station, two bus rides, plus an additional walk, bike, or bus ride after arriving at the National Park gate. This trip I was determined to visit and it was well worth the effort!
If you are able, be sure to ride one of the hundreds of bikes, provided free of charge, to get to the museum from the National Park’s front gate. Great fun!
The wonderful, serene paintings of Jan [Johannes] Vermeer – although sadly few in number – show a world of Dutch order and domestic calm. His work illuminates the quiet life of ordinary Dutch men and, particularly, women going about their lives: cleaning, chatting, cooking, drinking, playing music, and quietly contemplating life. Their existence is shown as measured and predictable, comfortable but not glamorous, unhurried and orderly with nothing out of place.from Vermeer by Sandra Forty
I just returned from Amsterdam having had the good fortune to see the sold-out Vermeer exhibit at the Rijksmuseum twice, while I was there. In addition, I traveled to The Hague to see the Girl with a Pearl Earring, as the painting was removed from the Rijksmuseum on March 30, 2023 to return home to the Mauritshuis.
Johannes Vermeer is my favorite painter. The Rijksmuseum’s retrospective exhibit (until June 4, 2023) features 28 of 37 known Vermeer paintings. It is the first time since the Dissius Auction in 1696 (when, allegedly, 21 Vermeer paintings were put up for sale), that so many of his paintings have been on display at one time.
Although I have seen several of Vermeer’s works before, the exhibit lighting was spectacular and it allowed me to see details of the paint texture and layering that I had not noticed in the past. Below are some my favorite Vermeer paintings.
The toughest wood with brightest blaze will greet: The hardest nut contains the sweetest meat; So wisdom, gained by light of midnight oil, Gives richest recompense to patient toil. From Industry By Charles Eugene Banks
I came across a half-finished needlepoint canvas while looking through my tapestry wool stash. I began it over a decade ago and decided at the time that I just didn’t have it in me to finish it – much like when I started reading the 1,072-page classic, Don Quixote, and decided enough was enough and put it back on the shelf.
After examining the needlepoint canvas further and determining that I had just enough wool to complete it, I resolved to push through and finish it. It took me just over a month of incessant work. It is, hands down, my favorite needlepoint piece to date. I sewed it into a pillow using silk fabric backing and velvet piping from Chennai and wool stuffing from a sheep farm in Pennsylvania. I love it and it was well worth the effort!
When a bird, takes flight Wings, sail on air Silhouettes of time Upon clouds, inspire No height, inconceivable Nor dream, unreachable Fear, no longer, an obstacle Hunger, no more, high I soar Tears retreat, from, the earths floor The sky, stretches out, its arms and opens its door from A Bird Takes Flight by Bernard E. Harris
After months of contemplation, I awoke this morning and knew it was time to move. Although I haven’t settled on the exact location for my new home, I am ready to take flight!
If you don’t mean it with every bone in your body, then just don’t say it. – Danielle LaPorte
I have learned over the years that beguiling promises, theatrical proclamations, and seductive statements of intent mean absolutely nothing without action, follow-through, stepping up to the plate, becoming a stakeholder, and/or demonstrating observable results. So please, no more talk – take action!
It‘s a children’s book…It’s mostly about very small animals; the hero is a moss beetle. – Noël Coward.
For several months I have been utterly enchanted with the animal world and now insects, in particular, are capturing my attention. Previously, I associated insects with mostly the stinging kind; yes, occasionally a monarch butterfly or ladybug would land on me, but mostly I was a target for anything that would bite, be it mosquitoes, bees, wasps, deer flies, fleas, spiders, fire ants, etc. So my relationship with bugs has not been the best over the years.
But last October that all changed when I attended an exhibition called Crawly Creatures at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and became fascinated with the images of bugs on the pages of illuminated manuscripts, oil paintings, and ornaments. Since then I have discovered the beauty of these small creatures – be it their colors, textures, and/or intricate body parts- especially the wings!
Last week, as I walked around my neighborhood, I starting noticing insects everywhere- lurking on the edges of branches, flower greenery, and flying through the air. They have transmuted in my mind from being creatures of nuisance, to be cast off (or squashed!) to being fellow creatures to adore and to behold for their sheer beauty!
Welcome pale primrose, starting up between, Dead matted leaves of oak and ash, that strew The every lawn, the wood, and spinney through ‘Mid creeping moss and ivy’s darker green, How much thy presence beautifies the ground! How sweet thy modest, unaffected pride Glows on the sunny bank, and wood’s warm side! And where thy fairy flowers in groups are found The schoolboy roams enchantedly along, Plucking the fairest with a rude delight, While the meek shepherd stops his simple song, To gaze a moment on the pleasing sight, O’erjoyed to see the flowers that truly bring The welcome news of sweet returning Spring.
From the sonnet To a Primrose by John Clare
The Primula auricula, common name Primrose, is one of my favorite flowers! When I was a child, my mother would take me to tea parties at her friend Dorothy’s house. Dorothy had a reputation as the local green thumb and garden queen. I loved going there because this lady had a magnificently fecund display of primrose plants. They were housed in a jumble of assorted clay pots sitting on exquisite porcelain saucers lined up along the sill of a huge picture window. The plants’ petals were enormous and each plant boasted a unique two-toned color combination. My favorite colors were: magenta, fuchsia, violet, and sap green. The centers of the petals were a very deep yellow. Those wonderful colors have remained in my memory and although I have never been able to grow primroses with the same success as Dorothy, I take time to admire them whenever I get the chance!
Bloemenstudie by Maria Margaretha van Os at the Rijksmuseum
The starling is my darling, although I don’t much approve of its Habits. Proletarian bird, Nesting in holes and corners, making a mess, And sometimes dropping its eggs Just any old where – on the front lawn, for instance.
It thinks it can sing too. In springtime They are on every rooftop, or high bough, Or telegraph pole, blithering away Discords, with cliches picked up From the other melodists…
From The Starling by John Heath-Stubbs
Despite the snap of cold weather, the starlings were out in full force today perched on the branches of crabapple trees – mostly hidden by the burgeoning pink blossoms. It seemed as if they were rehearsing a mixture of musical numbers and squeaky songs for a springtime premiere. They put a smile on my face!
An art book is a museum without walls. – Andre Malraux
A while back, I came across a box of old art museum, music, and attraction ticket stubs from my various travels. I am so glad that I saved them as not only do they serve as touchstones for wonderful memories but because they are quite beautiful – miniature works of art in their own right! I took them out of the box and now use them as bookmarks in my art books. I have also done the same with airplane boarding passes, tram and train tickets.
During my travels last year, scan codes were used for all the attractions and I did not come home with a single ticket stub from any of the venues I visited! Photos, postcards, and maps will have to suffice but will not be the same as ticket stubs. Now I have no tangible connection to the time and place I visited nor do I have a beautiful work of art or photograph that was the best part of the art museum and attraction tickets.
My David Bowie concert ticket stub (above) reminds me of David Bowie performing on stage in a torrential downpour in Wellington, New Zealand! A scan code on my phone would not evoke that memory the same way the ticket stub does.
Satin & Sand 