Tennis Anyone?
“I love winning, I can take the losing, but most of all I love to play.” Boris Becker The 2015 U.S. Open had the media abuzz, with fans rooting for the incomparable Serena Williams to perhaps win five consecutive grand slams. To date, she had already won the 2014 U.S. Open, 2015 Australian Open, 2015 French Open, and Wimbledon, 2015. The oldest player to win a major, she’s like the energizer bunny, and just keeps going and going. Win or lose, this #1 ranked player is a champion in every sense, so here’s twirl of the racket and well deserved kudos to Spectacular Serena. “I’m a...
Read MoreTally Ho
Riding to the Hounds In years past, November signaled the start of hunting season when skilled horsemen and trained hounds teamed to hunt a clever and equally skilled fox. In these glorious fall handkerchiefs, a pack of hounds is used to track a wild stag. Perfectly framed, the artist achieves maximum impact with minimal color, foreshadowing the colorless coming of winter. Again, the artist renders the hunt solely via shadow and silhouette. This stag chase may have commenced at chilly daybreak, or equally plausible, the hunt could be shrouded in the evening mists at dusk. The...
Read MoreCamping & Cookouts
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” Henry James It’s time to fire up the grill, swing at the shuttlecock, laze in the hammock, and commune with nature. Grown men finally have a valid excuse to play with fire, as they showcase their skills with spatulas and shish kebobs. From Top Chef to Hell’s Kitchen, inspired fledglings step up to the plate (pun intended) to flex their culinary muscles. This jaunty juggler skillfully shuffles the entire pantry in a dashing display of showman ship. Great fun! One...
Read MoreSki en Francais
“Thank goodness for the first snow. It was a reminder—no matter how old you became or how much you’d seen, things could still be new if you were willing to believe they still mattered.” Candace Bushnell, Lipstick Jungle From Chamonix to Courcheval, Val d’Isère to Gstaad, the French/Swiss alps offer breathtaking curves to negotiate, both on and off the slopes! We’ve already seen some lovely hankies inspired by brilliant blue skies and bold mountains in Ski Sun Valley. Now we take a turn (pun intended) toward the lighter side of skiing – silliness on the slopes, and who better to lead the...
Read MoreSkiing – from Sun Valley to Snowmass
Slaloming, Shredding, Schussing down the slopes … superb, sublime, splendiferous! This sport of champions didn’t always showcase spandex. Back in the day, the swells wore hand knit sweaters from Austria, wool knickers, and billed caps. At day’s end, zipping back to the lodge for an après ski toddy, one might spy the likes of (L to R) Mrs. Gary Cooper, Jack Hemingway, (Ernest’s eldest son), Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper and Clark Gable. When dressing for dinner ladies might sport a remembrance of their day in the form of a handkerchief tucked in a breast pocket or looped over a belt. This...
Read MoreDance, Dance, Dance
“To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking.” Agnes De Mille Whether a Viennese Waltz, Irish Quadrille, Greek Horos, or Argentine Tango, most countries have a national dance. When dignitaries visit, the welcome ceremony often includes a dance presentation as a gesture of hospitality. Dance, along with music, is one of the purest expressions of joy and energy, and one of the easiest to share. With language barriers removed, one can instantly fuse with the life force which fills the room. For the...
Read MoreSailing
I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking Sea Fever by John Masefield There’s something about the water that restores man’s soul. Perhaps it’s because, as scientists claim, the human body is comprised of 65% water, (78% for infants) so when we stand by the water’s edge we have a feeling of coming home. Poets for centuries have tried to capture the sense of awe...
Read MoreWho’s Your Caddy?
“Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening – and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.” Arnold Palmer Whether your fantasies include donning the green blazer at Augusta, letting the sea breeze tousle your hair on the fairways at St. Andrews, or wishing Bagger Vance would appear to whisper words of wisdom, golfers swear The Game is an itch that must be scratched, an addiction that can’t be satisfied. It’s a gentleman’s sport that can make you...
Read MoreCowboys & Indians
“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” Ralph Waldo Emerson What would childhood be without heroes? From the 1930’s-50’s our heroes were larger than life, often because they were celluloid, blazing across a giant movie screen, riding a thundering steed. Yep. The all American Cowboy. We started this journey in Saddle Up Cowboy, with the likes of Tom Mix, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autrey, Roy Rogers, and Kit Carson. Even the titles of TV shows had the searing crack of a bullwhip – Rawhide, Maverick, Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West, The Lone...
Read MoreKentucky Derby
httpa://www.youtube.com/ only, ?v=FZo9w0Avjnk ”To ride a horse is to fly without wings.” Author unknown Christened “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” the Kentucky Derby is a heart-stirring, dazzling competition of both power and beauty. A breathtaking show of man and animal working as one. Three-year-old thoroughbreds thunder at magnificent speed in this “Run for the Roses,” held every year since 1875. “At its finest, rider and horse are joined not by tack, but by trust. Each is totally reliant upon the other. Each is the selfless guardian of the other’s very well being.” Author...
Read MoreExercise
And one, and two, and kick, and kick….and three, and four….and SMILE….this if FUN! Like milk & cookies, mac & cheese, ice cream & hot fudge, what goes with Diet? EXERCISE! Back in the heyday of the handkerchief, the king of exercise was Jack La Lanne. Today people may chuckle at his stretch jumpsuit and pumped up “guns”, but he motivated thousands to get off the couch and into shape; and he lived to be 97. It was pneumonia that finally felled the workout master. As far back as 1936 La Lanne had a gym, juice bar and health food store in Oakland, CA. Doctors decried him as a...
Read MoreSnow Bunnies and Moguls
For some skiers, mention the word mogul, and their knees involuntarily creak, as they recall plowing over, under, around, and though “the bumps” (enormous man made mounds of snow) whether they were standing upright, or falling end over end down the mountain. Others envision a different concept of “mogul.” When I lived in Denver in the 1970’s, I remember a reporter in Aspen approaching a group of gorgeous, model-like women “lunching and sunning” on the deck. Their outfits were not only supremely expensive, but pristine, as though they had never taken a fall. The reporter...
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