28 Friday Jan 2011
Posted in Art, Design, Photography, Reflections
≈ Comments Off on Berkeley…
Tags
beautiful, Beauty, coffee shop, Design, London Plane tree, Photography, Pollarded trees, postaweek2011, Pruning, reverse image, Sproul Plaza, UC Berkeley
© Joan Currie
I captured this reflected photograph sitting outside a coffee shop at the University of California at Berkeley campus today.
© Joan Currie
The pollarded London Plane trees at Sproul Plaza fascinated me. Here is a reverse image detail of one of the trees.
25 Tuesday Jan 2011
Posted in Photography, Reflections, Relationships, Writing
© Joan Currie - Newly found photo of my grandfather.
Isn’t it strange that princes and kings
And clowns who caper in stardust rings,
And common people, like you and me
Are builders for eternity?
R. L. Sharpe
About two years ago I was bitten by the genealogy bug. It left me with an incurable desire to add more and more branches to my family tree.
One of the best things about having this condition is that I will never be bored at family functions again. Every relative is a potential gold mine of information. For instance, I might discover that my great aunt has saved every Christmas letter and card she ever received, my uncle possesses the immigration records and passenger lists of our transplanted European ancestors, and my second cousin once removed has a collection of wedding photographs along with my grandmother’s wedding dress in her cedar chest that she had not looked at in over forty years.
After six months of searching on the internet and in archival libraries; I traced both my maternal and half of my paternal family trees back to the early 1600s, reconnected with relatives all over North America, and discovered new relations in Europe.
Days before last Christmas, a cousin, with whom I had not talked in over fifteen years, telephoned me to say that she had found our grandmother’s bible. Within its pages were three items; my grandmother’s marriage certificate, a letter my cousin had written to her, and a postcard that I had sent to her many years ago.
I was moved to tears by the news. The confirmation that my grandmother had, indeed, a special place for me in her heart meant the world to me and I thanked my cousin for possibly the best Christmas present I have ever received!
When the postcard arrived in the mail, I placed it in a silver frame alongside a photograph of my grandmother, and it rests for now on my bedside table.
23 Sunday Jan 2011
Posted in Art, Design, Food, Photography, Reflections, Writing
≈ Comments Off on 101 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life – Part 3…
Tags
101 List, beautiful, Beauty, Photography, postaweek2011, Self-help, Stanford University, Word list, Words
© Joan Currie - Stanford University
Continued…
68. Take a class at an art, architecture, or design school.
69. Skip a stone.
70. Sing a camp fire song.
71. Send good wishes to someone in ill health.
72. Take a self-portrait.
73. Hug your loved ones.
74. Sing in the car.
75. Watch a fountain.
76. Look up the origin of words.
77. Greet passersby with a hello and a smile.
78. Post children’s art in your home – you may even rediscover your own schoolwork.
79. Reconnect with a former classmate.
80. Attend birthday parties.
81. Learn how to snowshoe.
82. Fly high in a hot air balloon, glider, or small plane.
83. Teach a child how to bake a cake.
84. Give a massage.
85. Have a picnic.
86. Watch all Academy Award Best Picture nominees for the current year.
87. Indulge in a bubble bath.
88. Sleep under an eiderdown.
89. Use fabric napkins.
90. Attend book readings at your local bookstore or library.
91. Host a family celebration.
92. Become a possibilities thinker.
93. Watch a moonrise or eclipse.
94. Assist someone who is disabled.
95. Grow a vegetable or herb from seed.
96. Watch Cirque du Soleil.
97. Try yoga.
98. Perform an act of courage.
99. Roast marshmallows over an open fire.
100. Become the person you always wanted to be.
101. Wish upon a star!
I would love to know what you would add to this list!
23 Sunday Jan 2011
Posted in Art, Design, Fashion, Photography, Reflections, Travel, Writing
≈ Comments Off on 101 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life – Part 2…
Tags
Add beauty to your life, beautiful, Beauty, Greece, Photography, postaweek2011, Santorini, To do list, Word list, Words
© Lydia Hudgens
Continued...
34. Travel to a foreign land.
35. Buy flowers from a farmers market.
36. Stargaze.
37. Create a family tree.
38. Taste exotic fruit.
39. Buy a painting from an art school.
40. Make a cat purr.
41. Learn a few phrases in a foreign language.
42. Visit a cathedral with stained glass windows.
43. Watch a sunrise.
44. Read to a child.
45. Learn to play a musical instrument.
46. Ride a horse.
47. Laugh out loud.
48. Snuggle.
49. Wear your best watch or jewelry.
50. Cry at movies.
51. Display your treasures and collections.
52. Listen to Puccini, Tchaikovsky, or Chopin.
53. Wear cowboy boots.
54. Ride in a fast boat.
55. Watch Masterpiece Theater.
56. Notice your city or town’s architecture.
57. Say “Yes” more often.
58. Listen to a new music genre.
59. Learn a limerick.
60. Buy fine cotton or silk sheets.
61. Write with a different color ink.
62. Visit a National Forest.
63. Buy or make new sofa cushions.
64. Learn to skin and/or scuba dive.
65. Greet your baristas by name.
66. Buy balloons.
67. Believe in miracles.
To be continued…
22 Saturday Jan 2011
Posted in Art, Dance, Design, Fashion, Food, Photography, Reflections, Travel, Writing
Tags
Beach, beautiful, Beauty, Capitola State Beach, Photography, postaweek2011, Self-help, Sunset, Top 103 list, Word list, Words
© Joan Currie - Capitola State Beach
Part 1.
1. Watch a sunset – see the green flash.
2. Admire rainbows, jet streams, and beautiful cloud formations.
3. Look through a kaleidoscope.
4. Use your “good” china and silverware.
5. Take a road trip.
6. Decorate a birthday cake.
7. Blow bubbles in the sunlight.
8. Examine a postage stamp, dollar bill, or coin through a magnifying glass.
9. Buy a bird feeder or bird bath.
10. Walk in the woods.
11. Drive in a convertible with the top down.
12. Visit a planetarium, aquarium. or zoo.
13. Learn calligraphy.
14. Hold a baby.
15. Place photos of you and your loved ones at your happiest around your home.
16. Go to the ballet, opera, or theatre.
17. Create a secret garden.
18. Learn to dance the cha cha, tango, samba, waltz, or swing.
19. Read poetry.
20. Spend time with an octogenarian, nonagenarian, or centenarian.
21. Wear something red.
22. Light candles.
23. Ride a zip line, climb a wall, or jump on a trampoline.
24. Make a snow angel.
25. Visit an art museum or gallery.
26. Play catch with a dog.
27. Doodle.
28. Watch fireworks.
29. Paint one wall in your home your favorite color.
30. Volunteer.
31. Buy a couple of goldfish.
32. Forgive past wrongs.
33. Say “I love you!” more often.
To be continued…
20 Thursday Jan 2011
Posted in Photography, Reflections
≈ Comments Off on Name it, claim it…
© Lydia Hudgens
You are not beautiful because I looked at your body, but because I looked into your eyes and I saw what was in your heart. – Anonymous
Several years ago I worked in a health care office. The receptionist was an older woman who had been employed by the group for over twenty years and nearing retirement. Life had dealt her some tough cards and although she performed her administrative tasks well, she had a sour disposition that seemed to infect the entire work environment and everyone who came into contact with her.
One day, a young, new hire named Rob arrived and although she introduced herself to him as Phyllis, he always addressed her as Beautiful. Over the next several weeks, we noticed that whenever Rob appeared, her eyes sparkled and she could not hold back a smile. She was reclaiming the beautiful woman that she had been all along – she just needed a nudge to push her true self out into the open again.
In time, Phyllis sported a new hairdo, applied a little make-up, and even spruced up her wardrobe. Her new-found happiness with her body image spilled over to her relationships with co-workers and clients. Life was good again.
Rob saw the beauty in Phyllis that we did not, but how hard would it have been for us to do the same? Is there someone in your life you can help in a similar way? It is never to late to make a difference.
Model – Lauren DiMarco
15 Saturday Jan 2011
Posted in Art, Photography, Reflections
Tags
beautiful, Beauty, Caves, Geodes, Kaleidoscopes, Nautilus shell, Photography, postaweek2011, Words
© Joan Currie
The greatest explorer on this earth never takes voyages as long as those of the man who descends to the depth of his heart. ~Julien Green
My mother has an impressive shell collection from her travels around the globe. My favorite shell is the Nautilus, half of which is pictured above. I like the way its mother-of-pearl, chambered interior is surprisingly far more beautiful than its exterior.
I started thinking about my other favorite things that also have lovelier insides such as; pomegranates and exotic fruits, amethyst and agate geodes, stalactite and glow worm caves, chestnuts, bees’ nests, eggs, secret gardens, coral reefs, cathedrals with stained glass windows, kaleidoscopes and telescopes, Russian dolls, and jewelry and music boxes.
I know many people, too, who on first meeting may appear gruff or cantankerous, but are really among the sweetest and gentlest people with hearts of gold once you get to know them.
07 Friday Jan 2011
Posted in Photography, Reflections, Travel
≈ Comments Off on Being prepared…
© Joan Currie
Be Prepared: The Motto of the Boy Scouts of America
My grandmother loved to tell the story of the television set blowing up after being hit by lightning because she neglected to shut the windows during an electrical storm. Other relatives followed up with really gruesome tales of friends or distant cousins charred beyond recognition from being hit by lightning on the eighteenth green, out sailing, or up on the roof.
In addition to lightning, nearly every natural disaster since time began has happened to someone my family knew intimately. After sharing all the grizzly details of the poor unsuspecting victim’s demise, someone would conclude with, “That’s a corker,” and move on to the next person they knew who had bought the farm.
My relatives’ acceptance of the maws of death appearing at any moment sparked my interest in risk management. I pack a small emergency kit whenever I set out into the wilds and although I have never had occasion to use it, I take it all the same as the best laid plans in hiking, like life, can go awry.
01 Saturday Jan 2011
Posted in Art, Photography, Reflections
≈ Comments Off on Resolutions Revisited…
Tags
beautiful, Beauty, Lauren DiMarco, Lincoln, Memoir, New Year's Resolutions, Photography, postaweek2011
© Lauren DiMarco
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.
Abraham Lincoln
In the 1980s we bought most of our electronics, jewelry, and toys from a catalog showroom store. We liked the idea of having the opportunity to preview and test out the merchandise before making a selection and, as a result, were always satisfied with our purchases.
On this first day of 2011, I am reviewing my resolutions for the year. I wish there were some way to test-drive some of the action items, as I did in that retail store, before investing the time, energy, and money necessary to make them happen. Several of my big ideas are fraught with considerable risk and I need to figure out how to manage that element. If after careful evaluation, I decide to embrace the projects full on, then the possibility exists that, by this time next year, one or two of them may have come to fruition!
Model – Lauren DiMarco
29 Wednesday Dec 2010
Posted in Art, Photography, Reflections, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Year in Review…
© Joan Currie
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.
Seneca
In several Christmas cards this season, I received beautifully-crafted letters depicting the phenomenal year of accomplishments the senders had enjoyed, that included exotic travels, impressive job promotions, second marriages, massive home renovations, and elite athletic pursuits.
After reading the letters, I must admit I was a bit dismayed that my life did not seem as exciting or fun-packed as those featured in the missives. So, after Christmas I sat in my favorite coffee shop and wrote a mock brag letter of my own detailing all that my family members had accomplished this year. I was truly surprised, delighted, and grateful at what I saw on the page before me! I recommend this exercise and I plan to share my findings with my nearest and dearest as we sign off on 2010.
Satin & Sand 