Beloved Brenn

23 years ago today, my daughter, Brenn was born. She was born at 1:07 a.m. and weighed over 9 lbs. I thought she would never arrive…after starting labor on Thursday night, she was born by cesarean early Sunday. She just wasn’t cooperating and sometimes it feels the same today (you know I love you B)!

When she was 11, I thought I might lose her when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Thank God I didn’t, we didn’t, and the world is happier, funnier, more beautiful place with her in it. She makes me laugh. I know she is on her own journey and it will be on her terms. I love you Brenn.

BELOVED BRENN

~A daughter may outgrow your lap,

but she will never outgrow your heart. ~

Southern California Sky

“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning”

These are both views from my upstairs balcony.  Each sunset is a new delight, you never know when it will be your last.

“Blessed be His name, who hath appointed the quiet night to follow the busy day, and the calm sleep to refresh the wearied limbs and to compose the troubled spirit.”
~Sir Walter Scott (The Talisman)

Doors

DOORS…

The doors we open and close each day

decide the lives we will live.

 ~Flora Whittemore

Stresa: Lake Maggiore, Italy

STRESA PALMS

 The name of Stresa, Italy first appeared in documents in 998. 

I went to visit in the month of March. It was rainy, but I always love how mountains look after rain. I think these would be beautiful anytime. The snow caps, the water, the palms, the pasta! 

Tunneling of the Simplon Pass allowed train service from north of the Alps to pass through Stresa, in 1906, significantly increasing tourism. 

As always, I wanted to walk around and see the unusual, the views that catch my eye. Like the impressive, mysterious, eerily vacant old villas along the water… (endowed by European aristocrats in the mid-19th century) 

LEFT BEHIND

 Talk about prime real estate. Why are there so many incredible vacant properties? with one of the best views in the world? the Alps. I want to go back in time and see who lived here and what the places looked like in their prime. I want to be a dinner guest at a party there, go out on the terrace with a glass of champagne in the evening and take the view in: 

Lake Maggiore

TWISTED

I love the outline of the limbs against the sky and water, how they twist and curl and creep. 

HELL'S KITCHEN

 Ha, I HAVE watched too many episodes of Hell’s Kitchen when I see the pitchfork during a walk in Italy! 

I had great food in Stresa, but of course! I walked, I read, I took pictures. The world is a wonderful place to explore. 

Because we are mortal, every talent, skill, ability we possess, every thought and feeling we ever have, every beautiful sight we ever see, every material possession we own, will ultimately be lost. 

Unless we share it. 

Unless we give what we have to others – to our spouse, to our child, to our friends and neighbors, to the strangers we encounter on our path – what we know and value will be irrevocably and utterly gone. 

~from “The Practice of Kindness”

Earth Laughs in Flowers ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.  ~Emma Goldman

Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity.  ~John Ruskin

I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.  ~Claude Monet

This very moment is a seed from which the flowers of tomorrow’s happiness grow. ~Margaret Lindsey

There are always flowers for those who want to see them.  ~Henri Matisse

Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet. ~Jeremy Bentham

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other. ~Chinese Proverb

“Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits, Take care of your garden And keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine Kind words and kind deeds”. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Ancient Angels from Avignon

I love angels, taking pictures of angels, believing in angels, hoping I have one or more watching over me, watching over my children, my husband. I am drawn to them, especially when I see them in Europe…maybe because I rarely see them in the US, unless I’m in an old cemetary.

I have seen some beautiful, ancient angels in London, in Vienna and these surrounding the Pope’s Palace in Avignon, France.

WATCHING

PROTECTING

GUARDING

SURROUNDING

“For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Psalm 91:11-12

Elegant Eiffel, Tower that is…

Seeing the Eiffel Tower is just one of those things.

Built as the entrance arch for the 1889 World’s Fair marking the centennial celebration of the  French Revolution, engineer Gustave Eiffel was the designer, thus appropriately named.

It’s the global icon of France, a 324 m tall symbol of Paris once considered an eyesore, with a permit to stand only 20 years.  The city of Paris planned to demolish the iron lattice tower but found it to be useful for communication purposes.

How could the world exist without the Eiffel Tower? I guess the same way it does without the Twin Towers, and the Twin Towers were full of souls. Definitely, the world would not be as beautiful a place.

TOWER BASE

LOVELY LATTICE

LIGHT THE NIGHT, ALLUMER LA NUIT

IN SPITE OF ALL WANDERINGS,

HAPPINESS IS ALWAYS FOUND

WITHIN A NARROW COMPASS

AND AMONG OBJECTS WHICH

LIE WITHIN OUR IMMEDIATE REACH.

– bulwer

Here are my own towers which I see every day:

PETITE EIFFEL

MY EIFFEL

And didn’t Dorothy say that happiness is found in our own backyard? (I am from Kansas after all)…

MY OWN BACKYARD

Coeur d’Alene aka CDA, Heart of an Awl

French traders and trappers who first encountered the Indians living in the area now called Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, thought they were shrewd traders and hard hearted, thus “Coeur d’Alene” translates literally as “heart of an awl.”

My mother’s name is Allene. She, on the other hand, has a heart of pure gold!

30 miles east of Spokane, Washington, Coeur d’Alene was once a mining and timber producing town. Now, it’s attractions include sking, golf and the beauty of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

LAKE COEUR D'ALENE

MILES AND MILES OF WATER

My husband wanted to rent jet skis while there and I was somewhat afraid to give them a go. So, we only rented one and I got HOOKED! We ended up taking turns and even though the water was so turbulant, I ended up going nearly 50 miles an hour. It was SOOOO hard to walk for days after… like riding a mechanical horse in the water.

Driving toward our accomodations, we stopped so I could take some photos of this ultra cool old CONOCO gas pump.

OLD CONOCO PUMP

FLEUR DE LIS PUMP CROWN

I love the fleur de lis! It is my “symbol” and I collect unusual fdl jewelry. Of course, I loved finding a big, red, plump one in the outdoors of Idaho!

CONOCO STATION PORCH

My brother is a chemical engineer for Conoco Phillips and has been ever since he went to K-State. He went right through school and straight on for his Master’s and I am so very proud of him. He’s one smart guy! Naturally, the huge Conoco sign on the porch would catch my eye.

For local dining, we met some friends (who have a cabin in the area) at the Wolf Lodge Inn Steakhouse. What a cozy, rustic, busy place.

NIGHT COMES

The night was peaceful and bright, light pouring through a hole in the sky:

MOON OVER MOUNTAIN

BE STILL AND KNOW

THAT I AM GOD.

Psalm 46:10

Svelte Stockholm

One of my favorite trips was to Stockholm, Sweden, city of 14 islands. I absolutely adored every moment. I call Stockholm svelte, because I have never seen so many beautiful blonds in black boots pushing baby buggies. It seemed a prolific and sexy city! Oh, there were good looking men there too.

I explored on my own and went on a self-directed walking tour of the city centre that I read about in one of my tour books.

It began at Sergels Torg, a two-level square at the junction with Klarabergsgatan and Hamngatan with the sight of Edvin Ohrstrom’s towering glass obelisk, Crystal Vertical Accent in Glass and Steel, (erected in 1972) looming above:

CRYSTAL VERTICAL ACCENT IN GLASS AND STEEL

On to the grand Konserthuset (the Concert Hall), architectural masterpiece of Ivar Tengbom. Of visual interest to me was the Orpheus scuplture group by Carl Milles.

ORPHEUS SCULPTURE GROUP

WOMEN AT HIS FEET

At the junction of Sveavagen and Olof Palmes Gata is a plaque marking the spot where former swedish Prime Minister, Olof Palme, was murdered in 1986 as he left a cinema with his wife.  He is buried just a short distance away in the churchyard at Adolf Fredriks Kyrka.

PLAQUE FOR DECEASED PRIME MINISTER

ADOLF FREDRIK CHURCH

BEAUTIFUL OLD HEADSTONE

Continuing on, I walked along the side of Observaforielunden, a park nestling the former observatory of Stockholm dating back to 1753.

VIEW FROM PARK

OLD STOCKHOLM OBSERVATORY

My next stop was the famous city library, Stadsbiblioteket designed by Gunnar Asplund. As you can see and partly imagine, there is a rounded room where books circle around and around. I was in Stockholm for about 4-5 days I think, and I read about 5 books. I walked, I read, I walked, I read. One book I read was The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates. Some of her writing is morose and disturbing yet mesmerizing.

STADSBIBLIOTEKET

I continued on to a 19th-century Neo-Gothic church called Johannes Kyrka. It was in the park, by this church, that I spent quite some time peacefully enjoying my solitude and, of course, reading.

JOHANNES KYRKA

The walk soon finished at Stureplan, an open square and an area of nightlife.

Other city sights:

STOCKHOLM

CITY STREET

FLYING FLAGS

A few other great pictures were taken from Gondolen, a classy bar at the top of Katarinahissen, a 38-m high lift/elevator constructed in 1881 which takes about 500,000 people a year up for a view of the city.

SODERMALM AREA OF STOCKHOLM

A famous neon sign and advertisement for Stomatol toothpaste is placed nearby, first erected in 1909.

STOMATOL NEON TOOTHPASTE SIGN

One of the most interesting museums I’ve ever visited… I’m saving for another post.

WHEN EVIL TIMES PREVAIL

TAKE CARE TO PRESERVE

THE SERENITY OF YOUR

HEART.

– horace

Through a Window

Through a window

I can see your face

I can talk to you

We can share a common place

from a song written by D. Holland and F. Blue, performed by Animal Logic

FRENCH OLIVE GROVE

This was one of the most beautiful sites I’d ever seen, especially after what I went through to get to this window! After leaving LAX late and then missing my connecting flight at JFK to Paris, I ended up getting on that same flight in JFK after they re-opened the doors due to bad weather in New York. I rushed to make it to the plane, sweaty and flustered, only to be seated and SIT ON THE TARMACK FOR FOUR HOURS! They finally broke out the champagne and served dinner to settle us down (ON THE TARMACK)!

I then missed the earlier train in Paris to Avignon. When I took the next available, the train was on strike (does that sound right?) and arrived many cars short. People bumped and pushed to get on and there was not enough space for all the people. I barely squeezed on toward the end of one car ONLY TO STAND FOR TWO HOURS.  People were already sitting in the aisles on the floor (next time I’ll buy first class).  

I finally got a seat as the train went further south  toward Provence. Then I took a taxi to my hotel in the middle of somewhere I’d certainly never been. All this on my own (and with no French)! I changed my clothes, barely freshened up and went to meet my dinner guests. Just as I was seated, dinner and wine were served. I slept GREAT!

Saint Rémy Tiled Roofs

I love the beautiful colors of these old terra cotta tile roofs in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. I was told that many of these old mission or barrel tiles are made by forming clay around a curved surface, such as a woman’s thigh.

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is the birthplace of Nostradamus, 16th century “prophet”. It is also where Vincent van Gogh spent time in the psychiatric center at Monastery Saint-Paul de Mausole (1889-1890).  One of these windows was his room:

Monastery Saint-Paul de Mausole

Another window that I look through is my kitchen window where I have seen some remarkable sights:

THROUGH MY KITCHEN WINDOW

CYPRESS AT DUSK

I have seen some other spectacular window sights:

SAN FRANCISCO DAY

SAN FRANCISCO NIGHT

CHATEAU DE VARENNE - DE VARENNE ROOM

DE VARENNE BALCONY

TABLE FOR TWO

WINDOW WALL

SYDNEY HARBOUR THROUGH MY WINDOW

SYDNEY HARBOUR

OPERA HOUSE AT DAWN

 REJOICE AT YOUR LIFE,

 FOR THE TIME IS MORE ADVANCED

 THAN YOU WOULD THINK.

– oriental wisdom