Proserpine Posterized…

13 Sunday Mar 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Photography, Reflections, Travel

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Art, beautiful, Beauty, Bernini, Borghese Villa, Maksim Zaitsev, Photography, postaweek2011, Rape of Prosperine, Rome, Sculpture

Pluto, god of the underworld, abducted Proserpine to be his queen and bride.

The woman’s fingers in the photograph above, brought to mind one of my favorite marble sculptures, Pluto and Proserpina (1621-22), by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the Galleria Borghese, Rome.

Model – Maksim Zaitsev

Canyon Bridge…

05 Saturday Mar 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Photography, Reflections, Travel

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beautiful, Beauty, bridges, Capilano, Hiking, Photography, postaweek2011, Vancouver

The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn. – David Russell

Be very careful about which bridges you burn as there may be no way back.

Taj Mahal…

16 Wednesday Feb 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Photography, Travel

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Agra, beautiful, Beauty, India, Photography, postaweek, Shah Jahan, Taj Mahal

A teardrop of love on the cheek of eternity. – Rabindranath Tagore
(describing Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal – a tomb and tribute for his wife).

My mother photographed the Taj Mahal during a visit to India in 1967.

Zip Line ( Return of the Jedi, revisited)…

13 Sunday Feb 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Photography, Relationships, Travel

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Ewok, Photography, postaweek2011, Redwoods adventure, Return of the Jedi, Star Wars, Zip line

Plunge boldly into the thick of life, and seize it where you will, it is always interesting. – Goethe

Despite my fear of heights, I accepted an invitation to go on a zip line adventure in the redwoods near Santa Cruz this afternoon. The risk manager in me checked out the two-point contact support (two parallel zip lines) and I was reassured by the fact that I would be tethered to a line at all times, especially on the (very) small platforms in the forest (one 150′ high).

The tour included 6 zip lines, each different in length (one 440 ‘ long) and speed, and two sky bridges. To be honest, each time I readied to leave the platform the thought did cross my mind that I might plunge to my death, but to my amazement, I pushed off just the same!

Now, here is the best part – remember the forest scenes in the Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi? The experience was a combination of the Ewoks’ forest platform homes on the moon Endor and the flying scooter-like experience of weaving in and out of the trees. The zip line also makes a buzzing sound akin to a scooter motor. (According to Wikipedia, the Ewoks are named after the Miwok, a Native American tribe, indigenous to the redwood forest!)

This is a view of the ropes challenge course right beside the zip line course – notice the size of the circular landing platform. The zip line travels from platform to platform and the only tricky part was figuring out how to brake effectively when coming in for a landing. The two guides, each stationed at a platform (one to launch and one to catch) were terrific!

All in all, it was a very intense but thrilling experience!

Train Yard…

06 Sunday Feb 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Design, Photography, Reflections, Travel

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Tags

beautiful, Big Trees & Pacific, Caboose, Locomotive, Memoir, Photography, postaweek2011, Reflections, Train, Train Yard

No man can be ideally successful until he has found his place. Like a locomotive he is strong on the track, but weak anywhere else. – Orison Swett Mardone

I love to travel by train! My favorite train ride was during the summer after grade ten when I traveled with my best girlfriend from Calgary to Vancouver through the Canadian Rockies. We both fell hopelessly in love with a handsome university student who boarded the train in Revelstoke and spent more time looking at him than the glorious scenery all around us.

Majestic Redwoods…

29 Saturday Jan 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Photography, Travel

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beautiful, Beauty, Photography, postaweek2011, Redwood trees, Redwoods, Zip line

From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters,
This land was made for you and me. – Woody Guthrie

I hiked this afternoon under the canopy of the towering redwoods.

I passed a challenge course’s platforms and sky bridges.

101 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life – Part 2…

23 Sunday Jan 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Design, Fashion, Photography, Reflections, Travel, Writing

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Add beauty to your life, beautiful, Beauty, Greece, Photography, postaweek2011, Santorini, To do list, Word list, Words

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…

103 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life…

22 Saturday Jan 2011

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Dance, Design, Fashion, Food, Photography, Reflections, Travel, Writing

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Tags

Beach, beautiful, Beauty, Capitola State Beach, Photography, postaweek2011, Self-help, Sunset, Top 103 list, Word list, Words

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.