Jazz it Up!
This week marks the grand opening of San Francisco’s new Jazz Center. As I write this, I’m listening to Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, and thinking about the recent loss of the late great Dave Brubeck. I used to listen to jazz with my dad. He adored Earl “Fatha” Hines and Ahmad Jamal, among others. Both were Philadelphia transplants who joined the Chicago jazz scene. We would listen to Dizzy Gillespie be-bop, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and others. The Dixieland sounds of Al Hirt, Pete Fountain and Louis Armstrong were also ever present. By the time we were through, Jamal’s Live at the...
Read MoreHost of Heavenly Angels
When I mentioned in Wabi-Sabi Love that I collect tin cans, I was only partially joking. In fact, I have a heavenly host of angels fashioned from tin cans. “You can become what you want. You have an army of angels behind you.” Sue Fitzmaurice Now, seven decades after their creation, most are beginning to resemble their origins as containers for soup, green beans, and the like. Originally fashioned from a simple pattern taken from a 1945 newspaper, they consist of two simple pieces – body and wings. (Interestingly, some things never change. The copy on the reverse includes daily...
Read MoreThe Handkerchief Flirt
“Flirting is a woman’s trade. One must keep in practice.” Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë Recently, I attended a graduation at Stanford as a guest, and found myself immersed in a throng of families, friends and parents of graduates at a reception. Many were alumni, and related tales of “when I went here…” or bemoaned the changes that inevitably come with time. One remark that caught my attention came from a grandfather with whom I’d been speaking earlier. Apparently he had met his sweetheart at college and later proposed at a landmark on the campus. “Kids today” he sighed, “have lost the art...
Read MoreThe Wedding Bouquet – Toss it or Keep it?
Ok, I’m being a bit facetious here because I’m not referring to the traditional bouquet toss, but rather to the current trend in bridal bouquets which makes me want to toss them to the curb. Rather than compliment the bride, today’s bouquets often make her look like she just breezed in from the farmer’s market. Of course styles and fashions constantly change, even when it comes to something as time-honored and traditional as a wedding dress. Bouquets used to consist of a cascade of flowers. The arrangement was formal and refined. Then in the 1970’s Age of Aquarius, things relaxed. Suits...
Read MoreBeam Me Up Scottie …..
My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here, My heart’s in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer; A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe, My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go. Robert Burns Pets of all varieties have adorned handkerchiefs throughout the years. The poodle is probably the most popular image, but the adorable Scottish Terrier appears frequently, scampering across everything from sporty handkerchiefs for men to hip and fashionable lipstick handkerchiefs for women to embroidered pups scampering around the border of a lady’s pocket handkerchief....
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